Shepherds of War Anthology: Princess Evangile
by Shepherds12
Summary: The year is 2011, and the world is on the brink of global catastrophe. Reborn into a cyborg, one man stands unshaken. Brimming with hatred and blinded by a lust for vengeance. Masaya Okonogi must save the world, hunt down and kill his enemies, and protect his new found family, by any means necessary. This is the story of a man's rebirth, revenge, and his redemption.
1. Prologue: Cold Weather Rendezvous

**This is my revised version of the prologue. After taking some time to think about it, I've decided to redo my earlier chapters as I feel they aren't what I want. My goal with this story is to have you all to stick around and discuss the social commentary. I look up to Hideo Kojima as a writer as he defined how you can have an enjoyable game and a fictional masterpiece with his Metal Gear franchise. I want to make a story that challenges the norm, that makes you think about the issues our world faces. How in war, there is no clear good guy or bad guy in most cases. With that being said I wanted to redo these chapters to improve on the mistakes I made the first time around one year ago. Please enjoy this story.**

 **Shepherds of War Anthology: Princess Evangile**

 **Prologue: Cold Weather Rendezvous**

 **Masaya's POV**

 **Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **March 31** **st** **, 2011**

 **2000 hrs**

 **Now Playing: Colorless Days- Princess Evangile OST**

My name is Prince Masaya Okonogi, the Cyborg Dragon-Prince and one of the commanders of the Shepherds Mercenary Force. I lived a very poor life growing up, until one day 7 years ago that changed my life forever.

"Fuck… It's so bloody cold." It was a cold spring night in my hometown of Tsurugigoaka. I was walking alone and lost in thought, wandering the streets waiting for something to happen or for hunger and fatigue to overcome me. You're probably wondering how I got in this situation in the first place. Well, it all started the night before.

 **March 30** **th** **, 2011**

 **2100hrs**

I was walking home, exhausted after my mission rescuing hostages in Kyoto, I finally came back to my old beaten up apartment, waiting in the apartment was my poor excuse of a father probably passed out from all the alcohol he drinks. I climbed the steps of the complex and got to the door of my apartment. It was a small complex with only four one person apartments, mine was on the second floor on the right. When we arrived at Tsurugigoaka, we only had enough money for this place as my father had once again used the money I earned for us on whores and alcohol instead of paying the debt he put on my family, we owed as much as one hundred million yen to various loan sharks and even the Yokosuka Yakuza. The apartment didn't require a fender's fee or a security deposit, we had to pay the first three months rent in advance which basically took all of our money to pay for. Exhausted, I opened the sliding door and saw the room pitch black. "Hey Dad I'm home! He's not here, heh guess those mob guys were back." My father spent his days lazing around the room or getting drunk at a bar. I told him millions of times to get a job, but he'd always just shrug it off and say the same thing. "Sorry Masaya, I've never held anything heavier than chopsticks." It was that saying that got us into a lot of trouble, my father never worked and would borrow money from loan sharks for his addictions to gambling, alcohol, and prostitutes. He'd always try every way to not work to pay off his loans, he would make me and my mother work various jobs to earn money. Eventually my mother had enough of my father's bullshit and on the evening of my 10th birthday, she divorced and left my father. I was glad for her, however this angered my father and he began to abuse me for not being a girl for him to prostitute or how I was the bastard child of a man my mother had relations with when she was younger. After years of warding off the loan sharks, the debt got too big and my father decided to leave Tsurugigoaka, we fled all the way to Yokosuka where one job changed my life forever. That fateful day resulted in me living the rest of my days as a cyborg, half-man and half-machine. After that incident, I was given state of the art cybernetic enhancements by a wealthy American businessman named William Goldman, CEO of Goldman Industries, with that I met my soon to be commander, Colonel Ryuto Yanase, commander of the 1st Imperial Commando Regiment, the best of the best in the Imperial Japanese Army. Colonel Yanase was impressed by my skill as a soldier and at the request of Mr. Goldman was inducted into the Army as a Imperial Commando. While I turned on the lights of the apartment I noticed a piece of corner store memo paper and an envelope on the coffee table. I picked up the memo paper and say my father had written on it. "I'm tired of this lifestyle, I'm going to go away for a while."

"That's rich, he's doing the same shit he pulled back at Yokosuka." I crumbled the paper and threw it in the rubbish bin. I then picked up the envelope wondering what exactly was inside. "Tsk… How sweet of him to leave me a good bye letter." I opened the envelope was another piece of paper that my father wrote on, the note read. "By the way, regarding the debt we owe."

"We owe? This bloody debt was all because of you." I continued to read the note. "I gone ahead and transferred the loan to your name."

"That bastard did what?!" I was starting to get angry but I still kept reading the note. "I already verified it to the sharks by taking your fingerprint while you slept. You're work must really tire you out, you slept like a baby." That was the last straw, I crumbled the note and threw it across the room and in a fit of rage, I kicked over the coffee table. "That little worthless, greedy bastard! I swear I the next time I see him, I'll kill him with no regret!" The reason my father left was to get the loan sharks off his back by selling me out. After years of constantly dodging the loan sharks, they hired a pair of ex-Tsurugigoaka Yakuza called 'The Goons', the Goons were way more demanding and violent in collecting the debt money. I was left alone to deal with a problem he started when I wasn't even born. "What the bloody hell am I going to do?" I stood in disbelief, the realisation of how alone I was in this situation was causing my head to spin, to make matters worse I heard a bang on the door.

 **Now Playing: Turmoil- Princess Evangile OST**

"Get out here old man, if ya know what's good for you!"

"Fuck." I pulled out my M1911A1 handgun and pointed it at the door, I quickly realized that I would get tried for murder as on paper, the Goons were just doing their job, however extorting the interest rates were. I flipped on my tactical eyepiece and activated a feature I received called SmartVision and saw two figures on the opposite side of the door, a young man in a white blazer and an older man in a yukata, they were indeed the Goons the sharks sent after us.

"We know your in there! Get out here or else we'll break this damn door down!" I was looking for a way out. I ran to the small closet and hid in there, knowing that wouldn't do anything, I noticed a hole on the ceiling big enough for me to fit. I climbed up the hole and began to escape my pursuers who just broke down the door. I made it to a crack on the roof of the complex and climbed out of the interior of the complex, I jumped down from the rain gutter and ran off into the busy streets of the main district.

 **No POV**

The door to Masaya's apartment swung open and the two men barged in with the younger man at the helm. "Okay old man, now you're really gonna get it! Er… what?" The younger man was confused, they had a lead on their client's target but found his apartment to be empty. The older man just scanned the place looking for anything suspicious. "Hmm… He's not here. What do we do, boss?" The older man looked at a ball of paper on the ground and read the paper.

"Hmph… Looks like that little coward has turned tail and ran away. He even abandoned his kid, the bastard sold out his son and his soul." The younger man checked the closet for anything but found nothing.

"So… What do we do now, boss?"

"Look around for the kid. He couldn't have gone far." The Goons left the apartment and started to search around for Masaya.

 **Masaya's POV**

 **March 31** **st** **, 2011**

That all happened yesterday evening. Since I fled from the apartment, I've just been wondering around the city. I slept on a park bench and found a button-up shirt that belonged to a man named Xander Arland, most likely an American tourist. I left the park and walked to the neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city, I saw a connivence store in the distance, realising I hadn't eaten since last night(one anpan and a can of milk) I checked my wallet for any money. "No paper bills. One hundred yen coin, 8 ten yen coins and 6 one yen coins. A total of 186 yen, fucking hell…" I walked into the store and bought a fish sausage to relieve some of the hunger. I left the store and walked around some more, people walking past shot me glances, at least they had a family to go back to. I continued walking until I heard a female voice shouting.

"Get away from me!"

I looked to the direction of the girls voice and saw a pink haired girl in a school uniform being assaulted by people in blue suits, all appeared to be female. I saw people quickening their pace, trying to pretend that whatever was going on didn't exist. _Hmph… Why should I care as well._ I thought that but then I stopped. _But those bastards can't just assault that girl. Fuck it, what's the worse thing they can do to me._ I turned around and ran to where the girl was and yelled out to the suited women.

"What the bloody hell are you all doing!" The suits all turned to me and the girl took the chance and broke away from the suits towards me.

"Please my good sir, help me." The girl hid behind me and hugged my back. One of the women in the suits, acting as a group representative come towards me. "Sir, step away from the girl. If you comply than you can leave without repercussions."

"I would, if you can answer my question first. Who the hell are you people, and what do you want with this girl?"

"Sir, I won't tell you again. Stand down, or we'll use force." I wasn't about to let these people take this girl. The Yakuza always pulled a trick like this, they're about to kidnap a girl and lie and tell people that need to speak to them, without answering questions from the concerned person. I signalled the girl with my elbow to start running away, then the suited woman gave me my "ultimatum". "This is your last warning! Give us the girl or face the consequences for your deviance." I didn't move a single muscle and stared down my soon to be attacker. "Hmph… if you insist. Take this!"

 _Okay ladies! Time for some CQC lessons! Private Okonogi, since you are the most skilled in it, your task is to take on six people all at once without a weapon._ I remember that day in training, the day I learned the U.S Special Forces hand to hand technique called CQC, a mix of judo and jujitsu and some other martial arts. One of my final tests before becoming a commando was to disarm 6 enemy soldiers with CQC, I passed it after I threw them all to the ground and taking their knives away. I snapped back into reality and jumped out of the way of my attacker, she tried to high kick me but I jumped right before her boot hit my chin.

 **Now Playing: A Soul Can't Be Cut- Metal Gear Rising Revengence OST**

I turned on my tactical eyepiece and rushed one of the suits. I grabbed her by the collar of her blazer and her right arm and threw her to the ground hard, one of the other suits tried to tackle me but I grabbed her right wrist, elbowed her in the vertebrae, flipped her over me and slammed her on the ground right next to her friend. The other four looked at me in horror as I rushed them and put one of them in a chock hold, two of the remaining suits decided to try and rush me but I threw their friend that I had in a chock hold at them, tripping them, they got up and I finished them off the same way I dealt with their friends. I looked back to see the pink haired girl hiding behind a rubbish bin. Then the only one left, the commander spoke to me.

"Who and what the hell are you?!"

"…Classified information, I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

"You scum! I won't let you go away that easy."

"If you want to fight then come at me!"

"Very well then… Hiyah!" The commander ran towards me, her fist aimed for my face, I dodge her strike and grabbed her and with all my strength slammed her on the ground next to her friends. I walked over to the rubbish bin where the girl was hiding. "Are you okay?"

 **Now Playing: Dignified- Princess Evangile OST**

I extended my arm to the girl, she was cuddled up into ball and looked frightened. She looked up at me and took my hand, I pulled her up from the floor when I blanked out and all I saw was a small girl crying over me calling out for someone. _"Chien!"_ The imagine left my mind as quick as it came into my mind. I realised that I was still holding the girl's hand, I let go immediately and turned my head away, blushing a little. _Who is this lass? She's so beautiful, she can give most movie actresses a run for their money._ After a couple seconds of awkwardness, the pink haired girl finally spoke.

"T-Thank you for saving me, Mr…"

"Masaya, Masaya Okonogi."

"Masaya… that's a lovely name. My name is Rise, Rise Rousenin.

I turned on my bio scan feature that I received along with SmartVision to reveal more about this 'Rise' girl.

 _Rise Rousenin_

 _DOB: 9/2/94_

 _POB: Tokyo, Japan_

 _Age: 16_

 _Height: 5ft 6in_

 _Weight: 93Ib_

 _Blood Type: O_

 _Occupation: Unemployed(Student)_

 _Parents: Tougo Rousenin: Incumbemt Defense Minister of Japan since 2009, son of the former CEO of Mori Tech._

 _Kaori Rousenin: Former heir presumptive of the wealthy Rousenin family. She was admitted to a hospital in Tsurugigoaka in 2004 for medical reasons._

"Um… excuse me Masaya, are you alright?" I snapped back to reality and calmly asked Rise what those women wanted with her. "Ms. Rousenin if I may, why were those women in the suits chasing you." She was still somewhat frightened so she had some trouble with talking.

"Those women were… can we talk about this somewhere else?"

"If you wish, I just want answers." We walked into an alley way when Rise finally spoke up.

"Masaya, the reason those women were chasing me was because… they're my school's private security." I looked at Rise's school uniform. It was mainly a white blouse and skirt with some black, she had a what appeared to be a red polished gem around her collar. She then pulled out a dark blue piece of cloth and offered it to me. "You're face is very flushed, use this to clean off the sweat. Don't worry about giving it back, I can just get a new one." I took the cloth and dabbed it on my face to wipe the sweat. I then spoke up about the uniform she was wearing. "That uniform… what school are from?"

"I attend Vincennes Private Girls Academy. I'm going to be in second year Final Course this next school year."

"Vincennes, huh? So that means you're pretty loaded."

"Pretty… loaded?"

"It means you have a lot of money. Anyways, tell me something. Why exactly are your school's private security force chasing you in the first place?"

"Well It has something to do with what I want to ask you. Masaya, how old are you?

"…I'm 16. I know, I look like I'm in my twenties."

"No, that's fine. I must say for a foreigner, you're Japanese is very good."

"…I've lived in Japan all my life. I'm half Japanese, my mother is an Englishwoman, and my great grandmother was German. I just got a lot of European blood in me, my paternal lineage for the most part is full Japanese though." My mother was a noble Englishwoman named Elizabeth Wellington. Her family was rich and powerful within British society and the men were hailed as heroes of the kingdom since the days of the British Empire during the Victorian era. The Wellington family is also a close relative to the House of Windsor, the reigning monarchy of the United Kingdom. Quite frankly, I don't know how she would fall in love with a bastard like my old man.

"Anyways, the reason the Gardiane was chasing me was because Vincennes is in some very serious financial trouble. The school board recently approved of renovations to the school to make it up to date with the national earthquake guidelines."

"I understand the reason why they had to renovate, earthquakes are common in Tsurugigoaka."

"Exactly, however the renovations were very costly and most of our donors are pulling their funds out to fund the war in China. In short the school's in debt and me and my grandmother are afraid that Vincennes won't be around for when I have children."

"So basically what your saying is that your school spent too much money, their donors are switching priorities from the school to the war, and that your scared that you future kids won't have a Vincennes to attend. I get your problem but where exactly does a bloke like me fit into all this blue blood drama."

"Yes, if I may ask Masaya? Can we talk about this over dinner?"

"I… I'm sorry, I'm on a strict diet _. Plus I don't have any money…_ "

"What was that last part?"

"Nothing! It's just that I don't feel all that hungry that's all." I gave a convincing smile and turned to walk away when my stomach made an audible growl.

"Masaya… you're stomach made that noise didn't it? *giggle* Don't worry, I'll pay for your meal. It's the least I can do for you after you rescued me." Before I realised it, I was following Rise into a place called the Pappatore Moonrook, I had always passed by this place when I was growing up but I thought it was a place specifically for blue bloods like politicians and businessmen. Needless to say, it didn't feel right. The sophisticated men looked at me with daggers for eyes as me, some gruff looking nobody walked in with a beautiful girl. But I didn't care, I had a very immense hatred towards the rich, quite frankly I still do to this day. We sat down and Rise opened up the menu.

"Hey Masaya, what do you want?" I looked at the menu, all the food looked very delicious but the prices were way to high for someone like me, granted the food on the menu looked more edible than the rations I would eat at training.

"Uh… I guess I'll have spaghetti." The restaurant was a mix between Japanese and Italian cuisines. Rise called the waiter and ordered our food, while we waited I heard two similar voices call for a waiter.

"Hey waiter, can you hurry it up?!"

"The cap is right! Hurry it up, we're getting shipped out tomorrow to fight the Soviets!" I turned to see two grey haired military officers looking very drunk, their faces and voices were the same as they were clones.

"Uh… Masaya, who are those people? Why do they look and sound the same?"

"Hmph… they're clones."

"Clones?"

"Yeah, those two are clone officers in the Imperial German Clone Army, they're most likely stationed near the army base on the coast. Rise, are you aware of the military alliance that Japan has with the New German Empire." The alliance between the Japanese Empire and the German Empire was formed when the IJA invaded China through the Korean Peninsula in 2007, I remember the news broadcasts the day it was announced that the first army divisions led by the Crown Prince crossed into northern China, rumours had it that he was very vocal in not using military action against China for resources but the previous Minister of Defense and the Emperor overruled the parliament and the Prince's decision to not go to war and launched the preemptive strike on China. After the initial invasion and the formal treaty of alliance was signed, the Germans started to send troops into Japan to instruct our soldiers in German military tactics, though the Imperial Commandos still use the same tactics as the U.S Navy SEALs and U.S Marine Commandos as our commander, Colonel Yanase worked extensively with the SEALs, MARCOM, and the SAS in his youth during the Soviet-Japanese War, nearly 20 years ago.

"Just a little bit, I only know because of my father, he's-"

"The incumbent Minister of Defense, Tougo Rousenin."

"Yes. How exactly did you know that already?"

"…Rousenin isn't exactly a common surname in this part of the world."

"Heh, that's true. My surname is foreign, French to be exact. Oh, I looks like our food is here. Let's eat." The waiter came with our food and asked us about what we would like to drink.

"No wine please, unless you want some Masaya."

"…No, I just take some oolong tea."

"I guess I'll have oolong tea as well." The waiter left the table and me and Rise started eating. As I was eating I started to hear something suspicious.

" _You sure he's in here?"_

" _Of course, he's six feet tall, foreign looking, with dark blue hair."_

" _I'm sorry sir, unless you're here to dine, you cannot enter the restaurant."_

" _Fuck that, move aside will ya!"_ I heard a waiter yell and a thud, I turned to see the Goons at the entrance. _Fuck_ , _it has to be these blokes, I need to think, how do I avoid them. "_ Excuse me Rise, I need to go to the restroom." I quickly ran off to the restroom area and hid behind the wall, I stuck my head out slightly to see the younger man walk up to Rise and I's table. Due to my heightened hearing, I heard the goon start to interrogate Rise.

"Hey girly, it's been awhile."

"Y-you! What do want now? Do you still wish to kidnap me."

"Not really, honestly for a little rich girl, you are a rather feisty one. Anyways, that guy you were with, ya know, blue hair, green eyes, roughly about this tall, talks in a British accent. We need to talk to him."

"What does Masaya have to do with the likes of you?"

"That little punk owes us a lot of money. 1,000,000 yen to be exact. But I think I can let you in on a secret. You wanna support your 'boyfriend', how 'bout you work at the bath houses." When I heard the goon trying to convince Rise to work at a whore house, I got extremely angry. I tried to keep my cool but I was already getting ready to rush the goon.

"A bath house?"

"Yeah, a bath house exclusive to males, using your body to rub soap on them, pays real good too, sounds like a good deal huh?"

"I will not be used as a man's plaything. Masaya is a good man, he'll never want me to stoop to those jobs!"

*slap*

 **Now Playing: Courage: Princess Evangile OST**

"Why you little bitch!" The underling flipped the table and pulled out a Tokarev TT-30 pistol and held Rise at gun point.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Masaya took on four trained martial artists single handed.

"Oh really, than where is your precious Prince Charming right now, huh?! Now bend down, I'll take you in front of all these people." I finally snapped and ran of to the goon, he heard my footsteps as I ran, he turned around and shot me right in the left shoulder. I yelled in pain but still ran towards him, I grabbed his gun, took the magazine out and pulled back the slide to eject the chambered bullet. I threw the gun across the fence, the underling then punch me right in the face with some brass knuckles he was wearing. The punch jerked me back and I spat blood on the floor of the restaurant.

"Masaya! Are you alright?! He shot you right in the shoulder!"

"Hmph… I'll be fine love. Now as for you two, what the hell do you want with Rise!"

"That bitch just slapped me right in the face! I'm just doing my job, if anyone is to blame, it you! You and bastard dad didn't want to pay us back, or you just think you're better than us because you're a robot!"

"SHUT YOUR BLOODY MOUTH!" I rushed the goon and grabbed him by the collar when he headbutt me, he then grabbed my shirt when I bit his arm.

"Agh… what kind of freak are you?!" The underling started to bleed from where I bit him. I touched my mouth and felt blood around my lips. I snapped out of my shock and rushed him again, this time punching him directly in the stomach, I grabbed him and flung him over the fence and into the decorative bushes. I looked over to see him out cold. The older goon was in complete shock as he's partner was just beaten up. "Where did you learn those moves? I had only seen those fighting moves back during the 'Raid of '92'."

"It's called CQC, the same fighting technique the commandos use."

"Oy! Kyoshi, let's get out of here!" The goon boss grabbed the underling and ran out of the shopping district. After the Goons left, the people around started clapping and many of the women young and old started to throw themselves on me, saying things like how I'm brave, or I'm cute, and "My daughter needs a man like you". One of the waiters started to call the police about the Goons and another came up to me with a bundle of napkins

"Here you go sir, use these to stop the bleeding." I was bleeding from where the underling shot me with his Tokarev. I grabbed the cloth that Rise gave me and tied it to the bundle of napkins to kept in place to stop the bleeding. I walked up to Rise and held out my hand. "Come on love, the police are gonna be here soon, besides you need to get back to Vincennes."

 **Now Playing: Dignified- Princess Evangile OST**

I led Rise out the restaurant, before leaving she apologised to the manager and offered to pay for the damages, but the manager just laughed and said. "You have nothing to apologize for young lady, that man is a hero. God only knows what would of happened if he didn't step in and fight those thugs. Don't worry the meal and the damages are on us, it's the least we can do."

"Really? Well… thank you sir, please make sure those criminals are found."

"Don't worry young lady, the police will take care of it."

"Thank you, the meal was very delicious." We left the restaurant and started walking to the bus stop. Rise was staring at me with a smile as we walked.

 **Rise's POV**

I was in awe the entire way to bus stop as Masaya walked me back to Vincennes, he was so dreamy and handsome, not to mention he was so brave, he defended me even though we barely met. What also intrigued me about Masaya was his history, how can someone as old as me be so skilled in a fight and also very knowledgeable in world politics and affairs. The things I wanted to know most was where he got his scars on his face, I also wanted to know if he would be the one man to enter Vincennes to convince the other girls and the school board to finally pass gender integration.

"*sigh* You've been staring at me for a while, what exactly do you want to ask?"

"I… I need to ask. Masaya, where did you get those scars?"

"*grunt* I got these scars in an accident. I got two on my face and one on my back." Masaya showed the scars he had. The two on his face were on his right cheek and his left eye, he then pulled up his shirt to reveal a big scar across his back, the scar extended from his right shoulder to the left side of his midsection. As I looked at the scar I got a flashback of a little boy with short blue hair on the ground, blood all around him as he whispered very weakly

 _Liz…_

 _No… this man can't be Chien, his hair isn't as short. Though Chien did look like foreigner just like Masaya._ As Masaya pulled down on his shirt, I noticed a glimmer of metal, I also noticed that he wearing a glove over his left hand but not his right. "Uh… Masaya, if I may. Why are you wearing only one glove?"

"*sight* What I'm about to show you is very disturbing and you'll probably run away. Are you prepared for it?"

"I don't care, you saved me from those criminals. Why would I look at you any different."

"Very well then… here you go." Masaya pulled up his left sleeve and pulled off the glove to reveal a metallic arm, the arm shined brightly off the lights of the city.

"My god Masaya. Where did you get this?"

"I was working at an army EOD disposal facility, I was helping dismantle a aircraft bomb when it went off, nearly killing me instantly. The shrapnel from the explosion severed my left arm and left my face scared from other pieces of shrapnel." That's not what happened, in actuality, the reason I had a cybernetic arm was because of a surprise Chinese attack on a cargo ship I was working on while I was in Yokosuka, we were in international waters when they attacked, I was the sole survivor of the attack.

"That's awful, was that to support your father-"

"And his bloody addictions! Yes, I earned the money then he wasted it all on alcohol and whores. Uh… pardon my language, I've heard that you bunch at Vincennes are too innocent for your own good."

"Yeah, I guess we are. Being honest, I've rarely left Vincennes for reasons other than visiting my mother or father."

"So… I guess this is where we say goodbye."

"Wait Masaya, I was about to ask. Are you interested in attending Vincennes."

"What?! But Vincennes is an all-girls school, meaning it's for girls only. Also, it's a school for rich kids, a bloke like me could never attend a prestigious place like that."

"I know but like I said, Vincennes is in dire need of male students, if we allow boys to attend, then more parents would donate to the school and we'd have no more financial problems. Please Masaya, you're the only man I've found with the characteristics of a good man, I know with your help, you'll save Vincennes from being forced to shut down."

"I… I can't, I have my own problems to deal with."

"Are you talking about the debt your father put your family in."

"Yeah, and some other more… personal issues."

*ring*

"Hmm… Excuse me Rise, my phone is ringing. Sergeant Okonogi, speak." It was a call from the Ministry of Defense. Usually that meant that I was going to be assigned a top-secret mission that would involve some sort of espionage against a enemy country. But it thankfully wasn't that.

"Sergeant Okonogi, this Is Lieutenant Saizo Fujimoto, Command has told me to inform you that you 1,000,000 yen debt has been paid in full."

"What?! Are you serious, my debts been paid? Who the hell paid it?!"

"According to the transaction papers it was an American named William Goldman, CEO of Goldman Industries. You still on the phone Sergeant?"

 _After all these long, bloody years. My debts been finally paid off. Thank you Mr. Goldman_.

"I…I see, thank you Lieutenant. I'm gonna hang up now."

"Masaya? Are you alright, you look like you're gonna faint."

"Heh heh… haha… HAHAHA!" I started to laugh hysterically, the years of pain and fear were finally over. No more part time jobs or the Yakuza after me. I can finally rest easy with a debt hanging over my head. I came back to senses, I turned to Rise who was a little worried. Still somewhat in a hysterical state I grabbed Rise's shoulders and hugged her like a bear. "Hey Rise, guess what. You've got yourself a new transfer student."

"R-Really! You're gonna help me."

"Yeah, I finally got my debt cleared, I can go back to a normal life." In my hysteria I completely forgot about all the bad things in my past and all the pain. Little did I know at the time that I was dead wrong, my life would only get less normal.

We walked the rest of the way back to Vincennes, talking about various things from manga to childhood memories, well memories with my mom or my friends in them. Before we knew it we were at the gates of Vincennes, the walls were made of stone with some decretive vines and a iron gate that had the Vincennes emblem on it. Rise told me a little of Vincennes' history.

This school was established in 1896 by French missionaries, though before it became a all-girls school, it was the first French Catholic mission established after the reopening of Japan's borders to westerners during the Meiji Restoration, Rise also told me that the cathedral I saw coming up was the very same one built when the mission was first established, not once being renovated as to keep tradition. "So this place has some history huh."

"Yeah, five generations of Rousenin women have attended this school, even more before as French missionaries. That's the reason I want to save this place. For one day I want both my sons and daughters to attend this school and then have grandchildren go here and so on."

"You're goals are admirable Rise, but I feel this isn't going be an easy battle."

"You're absolutely correct, there's only two people in the entire school for gender integration. Myself and my grandmother, the Chairwoman of the Vincennes board of directors. Without majority support from the students, the board will never support gender integration instead opt to convince more corporations to donate money."

"But the problem with that is that every corporation in this country are funding the Japanese military in China, from your technology companies to your everyday appliances companies, they're all making equipment for the military. You know what they say. "Corporations always look forward to the next big war." War is a business, the corporations control the politicians with money, make us fight wars we can't win, thousands die and the corporations get more money to put us in more wars."

"You're right, it's disgusting how people can profit from such an ugly thing."

"No won really wins in a war except the arms dealers…"

 **Now Playing: The Important Times- Princess Evangile OST**

"The gates should be opening soon. Before we walk in, I want to tell you the other students will not take kindly to you because you're a boy, they might even ridicule you. But with some effort and luck, we'll overcome this challenge and win this fight for integration." The gate opened and we walked in, as we walked through the path way the midnight breeze and the sakura trees around us blew the petals, it felt relaxing, like if I was starting a new life.

"It's beautiful isn't it, the trees bloom in the spring just in time to greet students new and old, they give off a feeling of relaxation to calm the anxieties of new students."

"Yeah, I feel at peace here… this place is like a whole different world than the one I've lived my whole life in." Rise stepped in front of me and extended her arm to me.

"Masaya Okonogi, on behalf of the Filles de Vincennes, will you join our familie and help me fight for integration."

"I will, I promise to help you. I owe you a debt that I will never be able to repay, but this debt is sacred." I walked up to Rise and firmly shook her hand, we nodded and Rise spoke words that would change my life forever.

"Then… let the battle for integration begin."

 **That concludes Chapter 0 of Shepherds of War Anthology: Princess Evangile. It was good to go back and revise this chapter as it bugged me for the longest time. Anyways, I've decided to set a schedule for the story, One month would be a revision, then the next would be a new chapter. So this month is Chapter 0 revised and next month will be Chapter 8. Let me know if this is a good idea, I hope this was way better than what I originally had and I hope to only get better and make this story an enjoyable read.**

 **Until next time- Shepherds12**


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome to Vincennes

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Vincennes**

 **No POV**

 **April 4th, 2011**

 **Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **0800hrs**

"Mr. Okonogi…? Mr. Masaya Okonogi…? Hmm… he may still be asleep. Masaya, I'm coming in right now." The door to Masaya's room opens and a woman in a nun outfit walks in to see Masaya sprawled out on the bed, lightly snoring. "*giggle* I thought so… Very well then. Masaya… please wake up." The woman poked Masaya's cheek, the man's face flinched a little before he started to groan in discomfort.

 **Masaya's POV**

I felt a poke on my left cheek and I begrudgingly opened my eyes to see a nun hovering over me.

"Good to see you're awake, Masaya." I slowly got up and put a hand on my head. "It is not good to sleep in on your first day of school, Vincennes has standards for being on time so please be awake by then next time.

"*grunt* I know, sorry, Sister… I just had a rough night." The nun standing in front of me was the dorm manager of Vincennes, Sister Mishima. She was at least in her mid-20s and was of average height for a adult Japanese woman. I was starting to realise quickly, was that Rise wasn't the only beauty this school had to offer.

"Oh… what is it that caused you to have a 'rough night?'

"…I was just anxious about starting school here. I am the only male at an all-girl's school, after all."

"Ah, well… just please at the gym before the Chairwoman's speech, she wants to formally introduce you to your classmates. I'll be taking my leave now, farewell, Masaya." Sister Mishima left my dorm and I checked my clock. "Shite, It's already 8:00, the ceremony starts in 30 minutes." I went to my bathroom, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and sloppily combed my hair when I got a call from my commander, Colonel Ryuto Yanase. "Hello, Colonel. Why are you calling me at this hour?"

"I was just calling to see if were alright, I heard your father left you."

"Yeah… that bastard finally abandoned me for good this time. Well good fucking reddens to him. I don't consider him my father anymore."

"I'm sorry… Look, if you can't afford to go to school. I'll request that you receive a scholarship to the Imperial Academy."

"No, It's fine, Colonel. I already got a scholarship to go to a school."

"Really? What school is it?"

"Colonel, have you heard of Vincennes Private Girls Academy."

"Heh… I never took you for a comedian, Masaya. Come on, you don't have to lie to make me feel less bad for you."

"No… I'm serious, I received a scholarship to attend Vincennes as a transfer student, the first boy in its history.

"Really? Please don't take offence to this, but why would one of the most prestigious academies in the country want an Imperial Commando? And that's not even mentioning your 'rough past'."

"Eh… it's a long story, to simplify it. I met the Minister of Defence's daughter, Rise Rousenin. She and her grandmother, who is the school board's chairwoman are considering that the school becomes co-ed after they lost a large amount of their funding from businesses due to the increase in the military's budget and all the contracts that the government is putting up for them to make new weapons or vehicles."

"Yeah… with the budget increases plus our growing number of casualties in China due to costly offences, I wager that this war's going to continue for at least the next five years. *scoff* The previous Minister of Defense told me and the Joint Chiefs that the war would over by 2009, he said that over four years ago."

"Yeah, it's no surprise that his approval ratings were in the 20's after that promise wasn't kept."

"I don't blame the people, he was a corporate shill, a shareholder in the arms industry. This war was just another way to line his pockets, profiting off the bloodshed . Minister Rousenin on the other hand while a pretty good guy, I feel like he's just a puppet for those who wanted this war. His father's company is a tech giant. In fact, Mori Tech was the company that made the software to your cybernetics.

"…At the end of the day, his family's made their cake through defense contracts from the military to develop programs from our combat helmet HUD's to all the electronics on our tanks and planes."

"That's the dark side of capitalism for you. The big corporations love money, even if it was soaked in the blood of innocent people. As they say, 'The wheels of the economy are greased with blood.' Anyway, I'll speak to you later, I have to attend a mission briefing for a commando team that's going to infiltrate a Chinese military camp for intel. Oh, and one more thing. My daughter is also attending Vincennes as a intermediate student, her name is Konomi."

"I'll be sure to look out for her. Anyway, I should be going too. I'm already about to be late on my first day. Talk to you later, Colonel." I hung up the phone and walked over to the door to the dormitory's hallways. As I stepped outside, some of the other doors opened and various other students were coming out, obviously, they all were girls which made it very apparent to me how drastically different I was to them. _I'm pretty sure I'm the tallest person in this entire school._ I wasn't alone in disbelief, the minute the other students saw me, they all started to flip out and panic.

"Oh my… an intruder has snuck into the building! Someone, get the Gardiane!"

"He's a foreigner too… Have the Americans finally invaded Japan!"

"Easy there girls, I'm not an intruder. And for the record, I'm half Japanese and have lived here all my life."

"Everyone! Let's get out of here before he does anything unholy to us!" With that, all the girls in my hallway bolted to the exit in a panicked flurry.

"Jesus… I wasn't expecting a reaction like that." I walked to the exit and went outside. It had been my first day at Vincennes not confined to my room, it's almost like I was a smuggled person hiding out in an empty room. Like in the hallway, the girls outside shot me looks and started to run in all directions away from me. I just kept focus on getting to the gym. One girl was running in the direction I was heading and yelled out to me.

"Stop following me, you creep!"

"I'm not following you, I need to get to the gym. Now please, get the hell out of my way." The girl picked up her pace and headed to a gaggle of girls around each other. She stopped and started pointing at me while talking to them. I calmly approached the group and said my good mornings, only to have all but two stay. Rise and a petite black haired girl.

 **Now Playing: Elegant Thorn- Princess Evangile OST**

 _Who is she? She's just as pretty as Rise, her petite build and appearance makes her look like a doll._ I scanned her face and brought up her Imperial Record.

 _Ritsuko Kitamikado_

 _DOB: 8/30/1995_

 _POB: Tsurugigoaka, Japan_

 _Age: 15_

 _Height: 5ft 1in_

 _Weight: 80Ib_

 _Blood Type: A+_

 _Occupation: Unemployed(Student)_

 _Parents: Misako Kitamikado (1975-): Headmistress of Vincennes Private Girls Academy_

 _Seiji Kitamikado(1974-): Owner of the 'Pappatore Moonrock'_

 _Siblings: Ayaka Kitamikado(1993-)_

"Hey, Masaya? Are you alright?" I snapped back to reality as Rise was waving her hand in front of my eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine just blanked out for a second." I retracted my tactical eyepiece and gave a convincing smile. When this Ritsuko chimed in.

"Rise, is this the boy you were referring to when you told us you found a suitor for the special scholarship?"

"Yes, Ritsuko. Allow me to introduce you to Masaya Okonogi." Rise took my hand and lead me right next to Ritsuko, the poor lass had to look all the way up to look at my face.

"Masaya Okonogi, a pleasure to to meet you Ms. Kitamikado." I extended my hand to her and she nervously took my hand.

"Likewise, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Okonogi." She let go of my hand and left me and Rise behind."

"I'm surprised… Ritsuko was actually a little open to you."

"Why? Is she very shy?"

"Well… I would say she's a little antisocial, she really doesn't talk to a lot of people unless it has something to do with school. Anyway, we should get going as well, I'll take you to my grandmother, she's been dying to see you." Rise led me to the entrance of the gym where a petite old lady in a formal attire stood waiting for us.

 _Mitsuko Rousenin_

 _DOB: 10/1/1947_

 _POB: Tokyo, Japan_

 _Age: 63_

 _Height: 5ft 2in_

 _Weight: 87Ib_

 _Blood Type: O_

 _Occupation: Chairwoman of the Vincennes Private Girls Academy Board of Trustees_

 _Current head of the Rousenin family._

 _Parents: Howard Rousenin (1915-2006): Son of the CEO of Emmerich International , an American company owned by the Emmerich family._

 _Saiko Rousenin (1920-2009): Former head of the Rousenin family_

 _Spouse: Hiromi Rousenin (1944-2001): Wealthy businessman and son of Japanese entrepreneurs._

 _Children: Kaori Rousenin(1974-): Former heir presumptive of the Rousenin family. Was admitted to professional medical care in 2004._

 _Grandchildren: Rise Rousenin (1994-) Heir presumptive of the Rousenin family_

"Ryosuke…? I that you?!"

"What?"

"Salutations grandmother, I need to tell you something. *whisper* I found the one, he has good character and of age to attend school here."

"Are you sure? I don't mean to question your judgement, but he doesn't exactly look like a student."

"That's because he's from the city. His family has gone through a lot of financial problems."

"I see… what's his name?"

"Masaya Okonogi. He's of mixed blood, I already made the mistake of calling him a foreigner.

"Okonogi…? Rise, there's something I must tell you later about this boy. Now go inside and find your seat."

"Yes, grandmother. Well, I'll be seeing you soon, farewell, Masaya, grandmother." Rise went inside the gym and the Chairwoman walked up to me."

"You look exactly like him…"

"I'm sorry, who are you talking about?"

"N-Nothing, it's just that you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago. Mitsuko Rousenin, Chairwoman of Vincennes Private Girls Academy. A pleasure, Mr. Okonogi."

"The pleasure is all mine, Madame Chairwoman. So this is the famed Vincennes I always heard about." I took a look around and saw all sorts of things from the main school building, to a bell tower, and a Gothic style cathedral.

"Yes, it is. I should give a little lesson about our history here. Vincennes was originally conceived as a Christian mission by the French after Japan reopened it's borders in 1854 due to Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the United States Navy. Anyway, after sometime as a mission, the women of the mission under the leadership of Marie Rousenin, my great grandmother, using her influence as the head priest's wife, the mission was converted into an academy for Japan's high class. And so in 1894, Vincennes Private Girls Academy was officially founded."

"Hmm… quite a tale. This school has been around for over a hundred years?"

"Yes, and I hope it can be for another hundred years. I feel as a descendent of the founder of this school, I must do everything I can to ensure Vincennes is still around, even when I am long passed."

"That's exactly what Rise told me when I first meet her. She feels obligated to ensure Vincennes' future for the sake of her future children."

"I see that she has dutifully attended to her role as a reformist. I feel that you will be the one to save Vincennes from bankruptcy. You're of a different background from those around you though, I warn you that this will be no easy task. If you feel like you can't do this, you can walk away right now, and if you're up to the challenge, please wait in the green room near the stage of the auditorium." The Chairwoman opened the doors to the gym and I confidently walked inside and into the green room. From the room I heard the Chairwoman introduce the head staff and begin her speech to the students. "Salutations students, and welcome back for another year here at Vincennes. As you know I am Misato Rousenin, Chairwoman of the Vincennes School Board, and to my left is Misako Kitamikado, Headmistress of Vincennes Private Girl's Academy. We also have one more person to introduce to you all. As you heard from rumours, there's been talks about Vincennes potentially becoming co-ed, I'm here to tell you that they are true. My hardworking granddaughter, Rise has searched relentlessly for a perfect candidate for a special scholarship for a male student to attend Vincennes, and she has, what I believe, found the ideal man for this institution. Students, please give a warm welcome to your new transfer student, Masaya Okonogi."

"What!" I heard someone scream from the crowd and got a little disturbed. _Jesus, is a man being here such a rarity._ I opened the door and walked from the green room to the Chairwoman's podium on the stage. "Mr. Okonogi, would you please introduce yourself to your fellow students."

"Uh… hello, my name is Ser-Uh… Masaya Okonogi, I'm looking forward to being with you all for the year." I gave a stiff bow when the Chairwoman whispered into my ear.

"Actually Masaya, you have two votes to endure."

"What?"

"I assumed Rise told you. Very well, there are two votes that will decide your fate here at Vincennes. The Premier Judgement in July and the Grande Vote at the end of the school year. The Premier Judgement is like a midterm, a vote that specifically involves you on whether are not you will be allowed to stay the whole year. Look, I'll tell Rise to give you the full details during class time. Now if you may, please step away from the podium." I moved off the podium and the Chairwoman took my place. "Anyway, that concludes today's introduction ceremony. I hope you'll take a liking to Masaya. And Masaya… try to make as many girlfriends as possible, you're a part of our famille now." The ceremony ended and the students started to filter out of the auditorium until it was me and the Chairwoman. "You should be heading to class, you'll be in the classroom 2-C. And please stop by my office after class if you can."

"Will do. I appreciate your help, Madame Chairwoman." I gave her a bow and left the auditorium for the the main building."

 **Chairwoman's POV**

I watched Masaya walk out of the auditorium and couldn't help but start comparing him to Ryosuke. "Hmm… he look just like his father and grandfather, although I sense that he's hiding something dark. I can feel the venoms that are hatred and pain in his heart, yet I also sense a feeling of loneliness and a longing for love in him. I wonder… was Rise's encounter with him destined or just pure luck? I did give her Ryosuke's old bandana though. It must be fate for the Okonogi's and the Rousenin's to be intertwined together."

 **Masaya's POV**

I got to the main building and took the stairs to the second floor where the 2nd year classes were. I look at the sign '2-C'. Then I heard Sister Mishima's voice from behind me. "Salutations, Masaya."

"Ah… Sister, I didn't notice you coming up. Are you one of the teachers in this hallway?"

"Yes… my homeroom is 2-C."

"Really? Well… I just so happens that I'm in that class."

"Oh that's good… I get to see your handsome face everyday."

"I- wait, what?"

"*giggle* I'm just teasing you. You are very handsome though."

"Thanks… anyway, what's with some of these classrooms, they're completely empty." I saw some classrooms lights off.

"Ah… That's because the school board had made the plan to renovate the school before the war in China started, so we thought that there would be still be plenty of students to fill all the new classrooms included in the renovation plan."

"So… the board didn't bother to change the plan after the war started and all the corporate donations were reduced."

"Chairwoman Rousenin proposed changes to the plan, but her opposition in the board led by the Chairwoman before her, Ayano Myougi, voted against the changes because they, like the rest of the country thought that the war would be over in a matter of months, and that our donors would resume funding.

"Tsk… in the end, this school board is no different than the Imperial Diet, a garbled partisan mess of conservatives and liberals disagreeing on everything."

"I seems that way, I can tell you're going to bring a lot of new prospectives to Vincennes."

"Yeah… anyway, can we start the school day?"

"Yes, of course. Follow me inside, I've placed your textbooks on my desk for you to grab." Sister Mishima opened the door to the classroom and we walked in to the room. The second the other girls saw me, the class was filled with whispers.

" _You can't be serious."_

" _The man is in our class?"_

" _Isn't he a little old to be in high school?"_

"Everyone this is Masaya Okonogi, he'll be in this class with you, please make him feel welcomed. Why don't you introduce yourself to your classmates?"

"Of course… Greetings, I'm Masaya Okonogi, it's a pleasure to be with you all." I gave a bow and turned to grab my books off Sister Mishima's desk.

"Let's see… where should I put you…"

"Sister, he can sit next to me." I saw Rise raise her hand and she pointed at the desk to her left.

"Very well. Masaya, If you may."

"Of course…" I walked my way to my desk, all the girls giving me looks of hostility. "Geez… talk about a rough crowd, huh?" I tried to start a conversation with Rise but she didn't respond. _I wonder what's on this lass' mind?_ Homeroom went normal, class introduction mainly so I can know who exactly I was with. I couldn't complain, better to get my intel on my surroundings directly from the horse's mouth. After homeroom ended, Sister Mishima left and we were given a couple of minutes of break to prepare for the next period. I looked around the classroom, any eyeing girls quickly averting their gaze when we made eye contact, then Rise finally spoke up.

 **Now Playing: Love Deterrance(Accoustic)- Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker OST**

"Ah… er… Masaya."

"Hmm? What's up, Rise?"

"I-I'm sorry!" She gave me a bow and looked away from me in shame, causing a reaction from our classmates.

"Look at him… making our poor Rise grovel in fear of him."

"He shouldn't be allowed to talk to our **Soleil D' Ecole** in such a improper manner."

"Hang on a minute. What the bloody hell are you talking about? Hey, Rise! Look at me!"

"I'm sorry, I lied to you about you're allotted time here. I just had no idea if you would accept this scholarship if you knew all the details."

"Rise… even if you told me about the vote in July, I still would've accepted this task. Because… I… I see this as a way to repay you for the kindness you showed me that night."

"But… I purposely deceived you into accepting under the guise that you would only face one vote at the end of the year. There's no excusing what I've done. But… I will do what ever you want to make it up to you…"

"If that's the case, I know how you can make it up for me. Just forget about it. I really don't care that you lied to me, I would of accepted your request regardless, even if I have to travel through the depths of hell to see your dream become a reality."

"You're right… it's just that. Mrs. Myougi made it practically impossible for you to have enough time to get to know everybody here.

"I take it this Myougi women hates me."

"Well… maybe not you in particular, just the thought of a male student body in a traditionally female-only school. I'll tell you more during lunch. Masaya… can you ever forgive me for lying to you?

"*chuckle* I had no intention not to forgive you."

"I see… that makes me happy." The school bell rang and our new teacher, who would naturally be a woman, walked in. During class I heard commotion outside when the door to my classroom opened and at the entrance was two girls, a tall blonde haired one and a smaller purpled haired one.

 **Now Playing: Thoughtless as Usual- Princess Evangile OST**

"Good morning, Masaya Okonogi. My name is Marika Myougi, student council president of Vincennes Private Girls Academy. Do you mind if we talk." I looked up and saw here standing in between mine and Rise's desks.

 _Jesus, she's a complete bombshell! If I'm being honest, this bird can give Rise a run for her money._ "No, I don't mind…"

"Wonderful! I just wanted to meet you and ask you how you're time here at Vincennes has been."

"*scoff* Well, besides being locked in a room for four days like a prisoner and then having every girl I try and talk to run for the bloody hills, my day has been fine."

"You should watch yourself, Mr. Okonogi. Show Marika some respect!" The purple haired girl behind her piped up and stared at me with eyes as sharp as daggers.

"And who are you…?"

"My name is Mitsuki Mekata, but you will only refer to me as Ms. Mekata. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Okonogi."

"Hmph… quite the feisty lapdog you have here Marika. You should keep her on a chain, you'll never know when she'll bite."

"*giggle* I see you have a sense of humor, though Mitsuki means no harm. She's just looking out for my well-being." There was something about Marika that seemed out of place. While she appeared friendly, I can sense that she wasn't who she really was.

"Well, I better take me leave. It was a pleasure meeting you, Masaya Okonogi." She signalled Mitsuki to the door and left the classroom with her entourage of fellow students.

"So… that's the student council president… I guess I should be honoured to even be in the same room as her." I sat back down and turned to Rise, who was staring blankly at the wall. "Hey Rise, you alright?" She snapped back into reality and quickly turned to face me.

"Yes, I'm fine. I guess I should of told you about Marika. She's the granddaughter to my grandmother's main advisory on the board, Mrs. Myougi. I'll warn you that she isn't someone you can take lightly. She's takes her duties very seriously and she's the most popular girl in this school, meaning that if you get on her bad side, it can hurt your chances of staying."

"I appreciate the warning, but don't worry. I'll just be sure to be good around her."

"I don't doubt that, Masaya. Just be careful around her. And also, be careful around Mitsuki, She can be another hurdle to deal with." The teacher walked and our next class started. During class the speaker sounded off. "Attention! Will Rise Rousenin please report to Chairwoman Rousenin's office. I repeat, will Rise Rousenin report to Chairwoman Rousenin's office." The teacher allowed Rise to leave and class resumed, although I felt lonelier with Rise not here.

 **Rise's POV**

 **Chairwoman Rousenin's Office, Vincennes Private Girls Academy**

 **1100hrs**

 **Now Playing: Colorless Days- Princess Evangile OST**

I walked into my grandmother's office, she was sitting down looking at picture on her desk.

"Grandmother, you wanted to speak to me?"

"Ah… Rise, you made it. Please have a seat right here." She lead me to the chair facing her desk and she sat back down on her chair. "Now Rise, I wanted to talk to you about that boy you brought, Masaya Okonogi. Speaking of which, how has he been today?"

"He's been doing fine. Grandmother, Marika showed up during class and talked to Masaya."

"Hmm… did she? That girl… if I'm being honest, I find her more unpredictable than her grandmother,. It's not that I dislike her, it's just that Mrs. Myougi is using her as a puppet, quite frankly I feel sorry for the poor girl. But anyway, let's get back to Masaya. I did some research, and he's exactly who I thought he was. Here read this." Grandmother gave me a paper that described Masaya.

 _Imperial Army Psychological Report_

 _Subject's name: Masaya Okonogi_

 _DOB: August 8th, 1994_

 _Age: 16 years old_

 _Blood Type: Unknown_

 _Race: Asian/Caucasian_

 _Nationality: Japanese/British_

 _Gender: Male_

 _Height: 6ft 0in_

 _Weight: 190Ib_

 _Description: According to birth records, the subject was born in Tokyo and raised in the city of Tsurugigoaka, The subject is the son of Shinya Okonogi, son of Imperial Commando founder Ryosuke Okonogi, and the older brother to Yuuji Okonogi, former Hero of the Empire and was reported deceased in an accident in 1995. The subject's mother is one, Elizabeth Wellington, daughter to renowned SAS commander during the Falklands War, General Sir Charles Wellington. According to the subject, his parents divorced on his 10th birthday and he has been living alone with his father ever since, and his mother has seemingly disappeared, although the subject admitted that she told him that she was living somewhere in Yokosuka. The subject is also been caught up in a considerable amount of debt attributed to him by his father and has taken odd jobs to pay it off. A born fighter, he's an excellent marksman in both rifles and pistols and well versed in hand to hand combat, he also is well adept with technology and mechanics, being able to fully disassemble and reassemble a M16A1 rifle in less than a minute. I do believe that he has what it takes to be a good commando. I hereby recommend that the Imperial Army Staff reassign the subject to Colonel Ryuto Yanase's commando regiment._

 _Psychological Profile_

 _According to the results from the psychologists, the subject has below average social skills, as when questioned, he never spoke a word. Although he appears to have an IQ of 180 as well as being fluent in nine languages. The subject also appears to have emotional problems, the subject is prone to fits of uncontrollable rage and has a tendency to be antagonistic to higher authorities, he also appears to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder due to domestic abuse from his father in his youth and a certain incident which the subject did not disclose to the questioners. It's very clear to me that the trauma he's endured have hardened him and are the main cause of his more violent tendencies. However, both Colonel Yanase and the Imperial Army Staff have approved of his transfer and is being sent to the United States Marine Corp Training Depot in San Diego, California to undergo commando training. This concludes the report. Signed, Major General Shigure Ushikawa, director of Imperial Army Intelligence._

I finished reading the paper and gave it back to Grandmother. I was taken aback by it, Masaya wasn't just an ordinary person, he was actually an Imperial Commando. "This can't be… he told me he was man who got injured working at a job."

"I know… it's a lot to take in. I had that suspicion since I first saw him. I met his father and grandfather before both of you were born. His real father…"

"What?! His real father?!" _What is Grandmother talking about? The file and Masaya told me that his father was Shinya._

"Rise, what I'm about to tell you is a secret. Masaya Okonogi's real father was Captain Yuuji Okonogi, the younger brother to Shinya Okonogi. Yuuji was a national hero in the months leading up to your's and Masaya's birth, he was responsible for the Japanese victory during the Soviet-Japanese War of 1993. During this time he fell in love with Masaya's mother, Elizabeth. And at war's end, they married and nine months later, Masaya was born."

"You sound like you were there…"

"Heh… I was. Shortly before the war broke out, in late 1992. Yuuji, his friend Ryuto Yanase, the current commander of the Imperial Commandos and the crown prince when he was a student at the Imperial Academy were sent on a mission here at Vincennes on my request."

"How were you able to do that?"

"Because myself and his father, General Ryosuke Okonogi were acquaintances, and of things were different, could've been your grandfather too…"

"What do you mean by that?" Grandmother just giggled to herself.

"Let's just say, I was very smitten with the good general in our youths. Anyway, Yuuji and his team were investigating the whereabouts of a student who went missing along with a member of the Gardiane. After that, one thing led to another and Yuuji was killed by an enemy of the Okonogi family, Ketsuki Nijimura, in 1995.

"How do you know all this?"

"Elizabeth told me the news. The poor girl was crying and clutching to young Masaya. Then after that she was taken in by Shinya and that sadly led to her disappearance when Masaya was only 10 years old. But myself and those close to Yuuji did make a agreement to erase most knowledge of Yuuji's existence from history, all to ensure that Masaya would not be hunted down by those who want him dead, as he is the sole Okonogi left."

"What about his fat- I mean uncle, isn't he an Okonogi too?"

"Yes, but he never followed in his brother's or father's footsteps and became a soldier. Instead, he turned to a life of crime for a while until urged by Yuuji to stop, but by then, he was not considered an true member of the Okonogi family. Rise, I have a task for you."

"What do you need Grandmother?"

"I need you to keep an eye on him, I can see a good man in him, but I also can feel he's struggling with a demon I can't understand. Be his supportive backbone, and be the one to spark the fire in his heart. And one more thing, don't ever tell anyone about this meeting, you understand?"

"Yes, Grandmother."

"Good, now please get back to class. And remember to be in my office after school, and bring Masaya too."

"I will. Salutations, Grandmother." I walked out of Grandmother's office and headed back to the classroom. When I got back I glanced at Masaya, I still couldn't believe that he was a soldier, I knew he was different, but I could've never thought he was an Imperial Commando.

 **Now Playing: Going out on a Sunny Day- Princess Evangile OST**

"Hey, you're back. What did your grandmother call you in for?"

"Oh… nothing, just that we need to go to her office after school."

"Rise… are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a little queasy, I think there was something in my breakfast today." I felt bad. I had just promised Masaya that I would be completely honest with him. Now I had to pretend I didn't know his secret.

"Hmm… Well, maybe it's good that I didn't eat today."

"Ms. Rousenin, please take your seat. And Mr. Okonogi, I don't want you talking in the middle of a lesson."

"Yes, ma'am." I shyly sat back down and Masaya just scoffed at the teachers words.

 _The subject is prone to fits of uncontrollable rage and has a tendency to be antagonistic to higher authorities._

 **Masaya's POV**

The bell had rang and everyone got up for lunch. I turned to Rise. "Hey Rise, are you all better now?" Rise looked at me and nodded.

"I think so… the pain is mostly gone."

"Well that's good to hear. Thank God you didn't get diarrhoea." Rise lightly hit my shoulder.

"Masaya! Have a little decency, you can't be talking like you've been just picked off the streets."

"Rise, you did just pick me off the streets… and I'm… thankful for it." Rise looked at me but quickly turned her head away.

"We should just get to the cafeteria…" We walked into the cafeteria, I was amazed at how it looked. Everything there looked brand new and modern compared to the cafeteria at Eitatsu, which probably hadn't been renovated for a good 30 years. I saw students grabbing a poker chip from a basket near the serving area.

"Hey Rise, what are the poker chips for?"

"Oh… your meal is different depending on what chip you get. For example, today's green chip is Yakisoba while the red chip is for Lasagna."

"I see, so green means a Japanese meal while red means a Western meal."

"Yes, did I mention that the food here is almost at a professional level."

"Heh… If it tastes better than a military ration, then it's fine by me."

"Yeah… anything would be better." We picked up our chips. I chose red while Rise chose green. We got our food and sat down on a table.

"Well then, time to ea- what are doing?" I was about to start eating my lasagna when I saw Rise moving her hand and making a cross.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just that… I've never seen anyone do that."

"Oh… sorry, I've been at this school for so long that I do the cross out of instinct, though being honest; I'm not a Christian."

"Yeah, I would consider myself unreligious too. There's been too many wars started for religions reasons throughout human history."

"Too true… Anyway, here's the plan. We need to get the Filles de Vincennes to accept you by July, that's when we'll hold the Premier Judgement. So tell me, what's something we can tell them to make them like you."

"If I'm being honest, there's not a lot to like about me. I'm more stubborn than any wild jackass, I have the mouth of a drunken sailor, my bank account is quite literally 0 yen, and I'm a dead man walking; the only thing keeping me alive are these cybernetics I have." I pointed to my heart.

"Don't be like that! There's plenty of good in you. You risked yourself for me even though we didn't know each other. You know, I don't watch a lot of movies but you remind me of the stoic hero that is kind as he is quiet."

"So… you basically see me as some Clint Eastwood type Gunslinger that's neither outlaw nor lawman."

"I guess, look, if we're to succeed, your going to have to open up. Be the man that the girls here can see as an example, and we can become co-ed here at Vincennes."

"I get you… It's just that… I'm not used to living a life where I don't wonder if this is going to be my last meal of the week."

"I… I know you're not a social person, but try… try to expand your social circle. Make friends… find love… and be happy."

"…I will, I at least hope that I can do one of those three." Lunch ended and we headed back to class silently. The rest of the school day went on and soon, the final bell rang and class officially ended for the day.

 **Now Playing: Thoughtless as Usual- Princess Evangile OST**

"I need to go to my grandmother's office for a meeting. Masaya, will you come with me?"

"Yeah, she asked me to show up anyway. What's the meeting even for?"

"Today's the day I officially become the leader of the White Lily Society."

"White Lily Society…?"

"Oh, did I not tell you? In Vincennes there's two association groups. The White Lily and the Red Rose, think of them as political parties, every year we hold an election for the student council president, the incumbent president, Marika, was leader of the Red Rose Society and won unanimously since no one dared run against her."

"Is it because they fear her?"

"No… quite the opposite, the whole school is infatuated with her. She's by far the most popular girl in school."

"I guess I can see why. She's quite the pretty bird, isn't she?"

"Masaya… Is that the first thing you see in a woman."

"No, it's just what I first noticed about her."

"And what was the first thing you saw in me?"

"That you're a cute girl picking a foolish, but admirable fight against staunch traditionalist. Kind of like if a three year old picked a fight with 'The Predator'."

"*sigh* That's another thing we got to work on, that sharp tongue of yours."

"Or maybe that's what this school needs. You can't be a normal high school without the sarcastic student that pisses off every entitled little prick here."

"…I guess you may be right. I'm not a spiteful person, but some of the girls here need to be taken a few pegs down, like Mits- Marika…"

"That Mitsuki girl. Where you two friends?"

"Yes… we were. Mitsuki and I were the best of friends since Primary Course… But after we enter Final Course, she was drawn like a moth to Marika and became…"

"…Her loyal lapdog…"

"I wouldn't use those words but, you're not wrong." I saw Rise start to tear up a little, but quickly regain her composure. "We're here. Masaya, can you stay to the side? I don't want too much trouble, the others won't take kindly to your presence."

"I don't give a shite what they think of me. But for your sake, I'll listen." Rise opened the door and we entered her grandmother's office. We walked into a gaggle of girls all talking, I caught a glimpse of Mitsuki talking with Ritsuko, the headmistress' daughter and the girl Rise was talking to in the morning before the introduction ceremony.

"*whisper* I didn't know that these associations had so many representatives." There was probably around 20 girls in the Chairwoman's office when we walked in.

"Ah… Rise, Masaya. So glad you can make it. Now we can call the meeting to an open. Mitsuki, will you share you're agenda to the room.

"Yes, Madam Chairwoman. The Red Rose's agenda for this school year is insure that the traditions of Vincennes are upheld from any 'certain individuals'."

"What exactly do mean by that?"

"Now, Masaya let her speak."

"It's alright, Madame Chairwoman. I'm not shamed to admit that this certain individual is this boy right here. Anyway, that's my agenda. Rise, what are yours?"

"Well… The White Lily Society's agenda will be focused on the matter of integration and seeing to that Vincennes will become co-ed and continue to prosper."

"Thank you. Now, does anyone object any of their agendas?" I saw those around Rise start to look at each other until on put her hand on Rise shoulder.

 **Now Playing: Colorless Days- Princess Evangile OST**

"Rise, I'm sorry but I do not agree with your plan. Here you go, I'm hereby resigning my position as a representative for the White Lily Society." The girl took off a blue ribbon that had been around her arm and gave to Rise, who was hesitant to take it.

"Yumi, you can't really be resigning?"

"I'm sorry, I will not be on the same side as this man. I hope you take no offence, mister-"

"Masaya. And I quite frankly don't care..," Yumi gave a stiff bow and left the room.

"Rise, I'm afraid I have to agree with Yumi. I will also resign from my position." Soon all of Rise's 'allies' had left the room and left Rise distraught with her hand clutching all the blue ribbons.

"Well I'll be… It seems you're allies have left you. I guess that means the election Is forfeit again."

"Don't count you eggs before they hatch Mitsuki. Rise still has one ally left."

"Oh, who is it then?"

"Me…"

"Hmph… you. Please, what would a low born know of Vincennes politics? You should not even be here, Rise should of selected someone with class, not some orphaned beggar she picked off the streets."

"Shut you bloody mouth, you bitch!" I found myself starting to get angry. It was one thing to hound me for being poor, but it's another thing when she tried to make Rise quit.

"My Rise, you're dog here has quite the bite. You should keep him on a leash."

"You're one to talk, I've seen you follow Marika like some puppy and answer her every beck and call. Now you listen here. I don't care who's your father or how much money you're family has. But know this, I'm gonna make damn sure that Rise wins this election and I don't give a fuck what you think otherwise."

"I think this concludes the meeting. Rise please stay, and Masaya, take some time to cool down. And Mitsuki, please be considerate to others next time."

"Hmph… sure." I left the room and headed towards my dorm when my phone rang. _Colonel Yanase?_ "Hello, Colonel?"

"Masaya, my commandos just returned from mission. Guess they found."

"Free tickets to DisneyLand Tokyo…"

"Very funny… they found a gold mine of vital intel. Apparently the American CIA was reported to have agents is Angola about a week ago."

"So the CIA is playing hardball with the Germans, when hasn't the CIA been sniffing it's nose into places it shouldn't be."

"This is a special case. Those agents apparently found a Japanese man with some Italian forces helping the Germans. That man was Suzukaze Sakamoto, a notorious crime boss and a with known anti-government sentiment."

"Damn… what else?"

"The team also found Chinese military battle plans to invade some countries, namely India and Russia."

"Hmm… this is some bad business. Has anyone in the Imperial Army Staff been briefed on this?"

"No, not yet. I'm gonna talk to the crown prince about this tomorrow. I hate to do this to you Masaya but I'm gonna need your help with this. You're one of the best men in my regiment, I'll try to not call you up on too many missions, but when I do, you'll have to miss school."

"It's fine Colonel, I know that I have to answer the call of duty when the government demands it."

"I'll call you when I'll need you to report to the Hiryu."

"Right… talk to later Colonel." I hung up and walked to my room to take a nap.

 **Rise's POV**

"Rise, I'm sorry about your friends." We were sitting on the couches next to Grandmother's desk

"It's alright, Grandmother. I should've known that they would be against integration. I'm the only one pushing for it, after all." It was true, besides my grandmother and now Masaya, I was the only person in the entire school to want reform.

"Masaya put on quite the show during the meeting."

"I'm surprised, he didn't falter when arguing with Mitsuki. Just like the report said."

"He's a very strong willed man, like his father and grandfather before him. I need to be honest with you Rise. Masaya could be a bit of a problem, while he has a kind heart under his cold and sarcastic exterior, his brashness and profane attitude could be used as ammunition against us. I like him don't get me wrong, but that temper and his antagonistic nature needs to be fixed."

"I agree, he's burned down too many bridges in one day. Anyway, was that what you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes, you can go to your dorm, Make sure to keep on eye on Masaya, and try and find some new members for the White Lily." I nodded and gave my grandmother a bow and walked out of her office to my dorm room. _Masaya… I want to believe he's a good person."_

 **One Week Earlier.**

 **Ahsoka's POV**

 **March 28th, 2011**

 **Los Fresnos, Texas, United States of America**

 **1630hrs**

"Guys I'm worried. The CIA has still not found Kyle." My name is Princess Ahsoka Hyodo, I was Supreme Allied Commander during the war and one of the founders of the Shepherds Mercenary Force. This is my side of the story. About two weeks prior to Masaya meeting Rise, my future husband, then best friend, Kyle Miller was sent by the CIA to help train the Angolan Army to successfully repel the German-Italian invasion of Angola, he was suppose to return in a week but we still hadn't heard back from him and the CIA concluded he was MIA presumably KIA.

"Look don't worry love, I'm sure Kyle is fine, me and him managed to make in out of France when the Germans were at our arses." Andrew Wellington, the oldest of our group and somehow the most immature. An handsome flirt whose father was from England and mother from here, he'd seduce a woman with his 'English charm' and butter them up with a bit of Spanish as most girls here were of Mexican heritage. He was the MI6's liaison to the CIA after the president and British prime minister agreed to share intelligence that would help the British in the war against Germany and Italy, without the U.S officially being involved.

"Andrew's right. You and Kyle are known for going MIA then reappearing out of the blue. Need I remind you of when you were MIA after the SNAFU that was our mission in Iran that got you sent to a Russia gulag." Xander Arland, the brains of the group. He's a master tactician as well as an adaptive fighter. Able to plan out a military operation and do so while bombs are going of everywhere, at the same time he's killing the enemy with a rifle in one hand, pen in the other.

"Ugh… you don't have to remind me. I saved your guys asses though."

"Yeah, and then you had the blokes at 'Fuck's News' thinking you were a communist spy."

"Eh… they'd report anything me or my mother and father do as a threat to national security. Ever since Sally went MIA two years ago…"

"Looks like we got another mission on our hands." We looked up and saw a Marine UH-1 Huey come down and saw two figures walk out.

"Agents, this is General Jonas DeSantas of the Angolan Army. He believes he has found Agent Miller, the deal is that you go to Angola with him, help fight of any German attacks and in return, he'll give whatever information he can on Miller."

"So you want us to pick Kyle's job and see if we can find any trace of him."

"Exactly, and try to be discrete. On Angolan Army records, you're team of foreign mercenaries, and if any of you are caught, that will be you cover story and the CIA will deny of your existence."

"…And then the conspiracy theories start circulating…"

"What my good lass means to say is "Don't worry sir, we'll insure that the Germans had no idea we were involved."

"Good, now get you gear. You all are headed to Angola."

"*sigh* If you guys have any homework, work on it. We're gonna be on the helicopter for a while." We boarded the Huey and we headed to Angola.

 **March 30th, 2011**

 **200km east of Luanda, Angola**

 **0700 hrs**

 **Now Playing: Savimbi's Pride- Call of Duty Black Ops II OST**

We were riding in an armored personal carrier when German mortar and artillery fire started peppering the field around us. One 'Screaming Mimi' exploded near my APC and flipped the whole thing on it's side. "You alright, American?"

"Agh… yeah, I'm still alive, I think. Fucking screaming mimies." I exited the APC and saw the convey start to scatter and dismount their troops, Then I heard someone screaming in pain. "Shit, the driver's area is on fire! Someone, hand me a shovel! I ran over to the APC and saw the driver burning alive. I took a shovel from an Angolan soldier and tried to break the plexiglass, but the driver died before I can get him out. Then General DeSantos came up to us. "I'm sorry Agent Hyodo, the fire killed. "Sometimes it's too late to save a man. We Angolans no that, now let's move out before we join in death. The mortar fire means the Germans are ready to attack! They want a fight, we will gladly give them a fight! Move out, soldiers of the Republic of Angola!"

"Ahsoka, do you copy?"

"I copy, go ahead Xander." Xander and Andrew were assigned to proved gunship support from a Huey as Xander was an expert pilot and Andrew was good enough shot with an machine gun to be the door gunner.

"German forces are advancing towards your position, lots of Panzers and mortar pits."

"Yeah, I know. I almost got blown to pieces by a screaming mimi. DeSantos is leading us right into the Germans."

"The general's got quite a pair of bullocks, doesn't he."

"My American friend, climb aboard." DeSantos pulled me onto a M4A3E8 Sherman and we rode right into the German positions. I got on the Browning M2 .50 Cal machine gun and started to fire at the advancing German forces. "Agent Hyodo, climb off and take these men to take out the mortar pits!

"Roger." I jumped off the tank and grabbed my M16A1 rifle and led a group of Angolan soldiers through the Germans and to their mortar pits. I grabbed a grenade from my bandolier, cooked it for a couple seconds and threw it into the pit, destroying it and sending the crews corpses flying. "Alright, one down, two to go!" We fought our way to the other pits, one guarded by a technical that killed half of my team when we approached the pit, when the machine gunner was reloading his MG42, I shot him right in the head and threw another grenade into the pit. "The mortar pits are down, you're clear, General DeSantos!" The armored convey moved up and Xander and Andrew's helicopter flew in.

"Ahsoka, this is Xander. In position to provide close air support. Over." I pulled out my binoculars and spotted a group of Panzer IV's in the distance.

"Alright Xander, I'm sending the coordinates of a group of enemy tanks to your HUD. I painted the target with a laser designator and gave the coordinates to Xander.

"Got the coordinates. Andrew, spoil up the mini-gun." Xander's helicopter swooped in and used the rocket launchers to destroy the tanks while Andrew mowed down infantry nearby with the door gun. "Target destroyed, all hostile tanks have been knocked out of commission."

"Grade A shooting guys, you just opened the way to their artillery guns." We pushed further and started losing many of our infantry and tanks. I flanked around with DeSantos and a couple of men and placed thermite grenades in the loading breach of the guns and burned the mechanisms from the inside. "Xander, we cleared out the artillery guns, but there're more tanks coming.

"I see them. Coming in for a strafing run." Xander destroyed the tanks and the remaining Germans started to retreat. General DeSantos climbed onto another tank and I jumped back on the machine gun.

"Men! They are at their breaking point. Finish them off!" The Angolan soldiers started to open fire on the retreating German soldiers. "Our journey to victory has begun! We will drive these German dogs out of Angola! Death to the German Empire!" We dismounted and Xander landed the Huey near us. "My brave American friends in the sky. You killed many clones today, we all did."

"Where's Agent Miller?!"

"We haven't recaptured the area where you're friend is. It's basically suicide."

"Where is he?!" I grabbed DeSantos shoulder, even though I was small compared to him, a 6 foot tall man.

"He's being held captive by a Japanese crime lord, a very dangerous man."

"Where is he?!"

"On a transport barge, in the Cubango river. He may already be dead."

"Let's go Xander, appreciate the info and good luck with your fight General."

"You be safe as well girl, the Japanese crime lord is not to be underestimated."

"I know what I'm getting myself into." Our helicopter lifted off and we headed for the river.

 **0830hrs**

 **Cubango River, Angola-Congo Border.**

We were hovering over the river and saw a barge that matched a picture DeSantos gave us. "This matches the picture, Kyle should be somewhere on the boat. Bring us along side the deck, Xander."

"I'm trying, they got some anti air on deck, I'm gonna- shit! Panzerschreck!" I looked out and saw a German soldier fire a rocket at us, it hit the tail rotor and our helicopter started to spiral.

"Agh… I trying to keep the damn thing straight, we're gonna have to jump!" Xander brought the helicopter at the right bow of the ship, we jumped and a German soldier tried to stab me with a bayonet as I tumbled onto the boat, I grabbed his G36 rifle and flung it off deck, I then pulled out my K-BAR and stabbed him through the throat, I grabbed my M16 and took cover behind a steel container.

"We got to clear the ship! We need to get to Kyle!" Xander tossed a concussion grenade and charged at them, we followed right behind him. We cleared the barge but soon German PT boats arrived and started to try and sink the barge. "Ahsoka! Andrew! Get on those MG42's. Pump those boat full of lead. I manned one of the port machine guns and fired at the approaching PT boats. Eventually they tuned away and we were cleared to search the barge.

"He's not in the crew quarters!"

"Not in the bridge either!"

"Fuck… here guys, let's check this steel container. Gave a hand with this." I started to unlock the container and we pulled the door open to the smell and sight of rotting corpses.

"Aw… fuck… Kyle, you in here mate?"

"Ugh… these bodies are decomposing, these men have been dead for weeks." I looked around for Kyle, looking at the bodies until I found his distinctive blue hair and found him laying up against the wall.

"Kyle, is that you?"

"…Who are you…"

"Kyle! It's me, Ahsoka! We're here to get you out of here." I picked up Kyle and led him outside until.

"Ahsoka! We got a problem! German helicopter!" I looked out and saw a Huey in German Army painting start to strafe the barge. "Shit! Ahsoka! I got a Stinger! Catch!" Xander threw a FIM-93 Stinger and I aimed at the helicopter until the missile locked on to the helicopter and it spiralled out of control into the deck of the barge. Causing it to sink. "Ahsoka! Get Kyle, he's going underwater!" I dove into the water a picked up Kyle while wading ashore.

"This is great. You guys realize that we've probably attracted the attention of the whole of Berlin. We need to get out of here before the search parties find us." I led the team through the jungle and got to a shack where I heard voices. "Guys, under this tree." I covered Kyle's mouth so no one could hear his breaths when I saw children lining up in a line with AK-47's with a man who was speaking Portuguese but had an Italian uniform on. "Italians? What the fuck are Italians doing here?"

"Probably mutual gain with Germany. Angola is rich in minerals and oil. They already captured a lot of the mines near the Zimbabwe border." Then another Italian soldier came and started signalling them to join the party. "They're gone, let's move." We got up from under the tree and hid a run down shack and quietly crawled in the tall grass.

"You guys see that. Radio tower."

"Nice, we can send a message to General DeSantos for an emergency extraction."

"Here, put Kyle down. Ahsoka, go to the tower and find a radio there. Be careful, try to attract any unnecessary attention." I nodded and pulled out my silver plated M1911A1 that used to belong to my sister, Sally. I snuck into the Italian outpost and climbed into a room with a man on a radio talking in Japanese.

"I heard what happened in Afghanistan. I want to make clear what happens to those who fail me." The man sitting down was an older man around his 60's. The voice on the radio was distorted but I can barely hear some words.

"I'm doing my best Master Sakamoto, these German dogs can't fight a guerrilla war. The Afghans have us outnumbered."

"It doesn't matter, you're job is to soften up the Afghan Army until the Chinese finish then off." I slowly approached the man and held my gun right in the back of his head. "You're just a pawn in Lord Ketsuki's grand plan."

"…You're a dead man unless you do exactly as I saw. Tune the radio to-." The man grabbed a engraved blued steeled Colt Single Action Army that was next to him and shot the radio, alerting the Italian and German soldiers nearby.

"Seems like the enemy's been alerted to your presence. What are you going to do now, girl." The door opened and the soldiers walked in. Thinking fast I grabbed the man and held my gun to his throat.

"No one or else this fucker is gonna have a .45 in his neck!" The soldiers started to relent as I held the man at gun point while he taunted me. "Lower your weapons! I swear to God, I'll kill this bastard!"

"*sigh* I guess the CIA never told you who I am. My name is Suzukaze Sakamoto, and you will die here! Ahsoka Hyodo!" Sakamoto pulled out a grenade and pulled the pin. "You son of a bitch!" I turned Sakamoto around and we struggled, the soldiers either running out of the building or diving onto the grenade. Sakamoto pulled out a knife and tried to stab me in the stomach, but I broke away and shot him, my bullet grazing his right eye. I quickly jumped out the window right before the grenade exploded. "Fuck… shit, this isn't good. Xander! Grab Kyle, we're getting the fuck out of here!" I ran right past Xander and Andrew.

"Oh shit! Time to go!"

"Jesus, Ahsoka! Sounds like you got all of Berlin and Rome on our asses! What the fuck happened back there!"

"Just shut up and keep running!" We ran through the jungle with screaming and gunfire at our backs.

"Ahsoka, please tell me that you found a radio to call DeSantos!"

"I was. But some old fuck shot it and almost killed me."

"Fuck! We're gonna have to find another way out. Let's get to the shoreline!" We ran to the shore to see another Huey waiting for us. "Shit! Fucking Germans!" Then the Huey fired it's machine gun at the German and Italian soldiers in back of us. The helicopter landed and DeSantos was at the door.

"You really thought I would let you do this alone! Come here my friends!" We ran to the helicopter and put Kyle in.

"Well, This didn't go quite as planned but… mission accomplished g- Agh!" I heard a gunshot and saw Xander jerk back.

"Xander! Shit!" A lone German soldier pointed his G36 at me when another gun fired, this time from a M1911A1, with the German shot dead. I turned around thinking Andrew was the one that killed him but it was actually Kyle.

"…You can't kill me…" I picked up Xander who was clutching his right shoulder. We boarded the helicopter and we went to a port in Luanda to get on a boat back to the U.S. I didn't know at the time that the Japanese man I almost killed, Suzukaze Sakamoto, was part of a shadow collective that was hell bent on setting the world ablaze.

 **This concludes Chapter 1 of Shepherds of War Anthology: Princess Evangile. I really should have finished months ago but school has been a real pain in the ass. Anyway stay tuned for Chapter 2: Childhood Friends Reunite revised and Chapter 9: The Meaning of the Scar.**


	3. Chapter 2: Childhood Friends Reunite

**Chapter 2: Childhood Friends Reunite**

 **August 8th, 2004**

 **2000hrs**

 **Tsurugigoaka Memorial Park, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **No POV**

 **Now Playing: Warmth is Gone- Fire Emblem Fates OST**

"Masaya, I know that today's your birthday but I need to tell you something. You're father and I… are getting a divorce." Masaya and his mother, Elizabeth, were enjoying Masaya's 10th birthday at the park when she told him the news of what was happening. "I know it's a lot to take in but… I need you to understand."

"I understand, Mom. But why are you doing it?"

"Because… I… I don't love him, I never did."

"Did you only stay because of me…?" The young boy started to tear up as he asked his mother the question. Elizabeth quickly hugged her son, tears forming in her eyes as well.

"*sigh* Masaya.., my sweet little boy. You know that you're the only thing in this world that I cherish. Which is why it pains me to do this. You're not coming with me. You're place is here… I don't want to leave you but… *sob* I have to…"

"Mom… are you ever going to come back for me…?"

"One day… I know that you will grow into a good and noble man… Just be strong, for me." Elizabeth started to walk away. Masaya overcome with grief, runs to a field of white lilies, his favourite place to be and started to cry for his mother. Then suddenly, a masked man approached the crying boy.

"Masaya Okonogi. I know it's painful to see your mother leave you. But your destiny is not in her loving arms. I come to let you know this. You're path will be one of pain and sorrow. You will be forged by the fires of hatred and revenge, but you will find your redemption, your happiness, and you will find love. You will build your own Garden of Eden." Before Masaya can open his eyes to see the man whose voice he heard, he had disappeared.

 **April 6th, 2011**

 **Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **Masaya's POV**

 **0545hrs**

 **Now Playing: Calmly and Peacefully- Princess Evangile OST**

It had been two days since school started and I was still getting used to Vincennes when I heard a knock on my door. "Ugh… who the bloody hell is at my door at this hour." I got up from my bed and put on a shirt and opened the door. "Who is-" Before I could finish my sentence, the door flung opened and Marika and her little lapdog Mitsuki walked in."

"Good morning, Masaya."

"You know… you could have waited a couple seconds for me to open the door."

"I'm sorry for the intrusion. But Mitsuki and I have to inspect your room."

"Inspect my room? For what exactly?"

"To see if you had any unsavory material. I heard boys you're age had them."

"*chuckle* I get what's going on. You lot are here to see if I had any porn. Sorry to disappoint but I don't have any."

"How can we be sure?"

"Well let's see… if I couldn't even afford a bloody Snickers bar at a corner store, what makes you think I can afford a porn magazine."

"That might be true but we need to know for sure, Masaya." I just sighed when Marika told me that. "Now then, if you please. Remove your sleeping clothes."

"Hold on there, Your Highness. I'm not doing that."

"How dare you mock Marika like that! You should know your place!"

"Mitsuki, please calm down. Sorry to ask you that but we need to make sure you're not hiding anything in your pockets. Besides, it's not like we're asking you to be nude." I wanted to say something but I relented and started to undress to my boxers. I was glimpsing at Marika to see her smiling. _Either she has something sinister up her sleeves or she's just a dominatrix that gets off to this shite._

"Ahem… Now please leave the room, Masaya." Mitsuki opened the entrance to my room and pointed outside the room.

"Can't I just stay here? You already got me in my underwear, me being here shouldn't prevent you from searching my room."

"We can't have you here while we search. Now step outside, we'll call when we're done. Try not to get into any trouble before we're done." She started to try and push me out of the room. I heard Mitsuki's struggling grunts and Marika's giggles before I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room. When Mitsuki closed the doors, she locked it and left me out in the hallway.

"You know, if anyone sees me out here that's on you two girl's arses." I cursed under my breath and started to walk away from my room.

 **No POV**

Mitsuki locked the door to Masaya's dorm and turned back to Marika. "Marika, do think it was a bad idea to do this? I mean sending him outside in nothing but his boxers."

"Remember Mitsuki, this is all a part of the plan. He'll be just fine, just be sure to text him as the bell to breakfast is about to ring. Now let's begin this inspection. Mitsuki, if you would, please search the kitchen area, I'll handle the bedroom area." Mitsuki moved to Masaya's kitchen and started checking the cupboards and the fridge.

"There's nothing here. Just a couple of empty tins of military rations. His kitchen is completely empty."

"Hmm… interesting. Keep looking, Mitsuki." Marika was looking under Masaya's bed when she stumbled on to a suitcase and a box. She pulled both out and placed it on Masaya's coffee table. "This is quite a find. A mysterious suitcase and a box of bullets, '230 grain .45ACP Hollow Point.'"Marika picked a bullet from the box and examined it before putting it back in. She then moved to the suitcase, which was slightly opened, she opened up the case to see a set of armor. "Would you look at this. What a curious man indeed."

"My question is… what normal student would have a box of gun ammunition and a suitcase of armor?" Mitsuki paced around the room, grabbing Masaya's M1911A1 from his nightstand and studying it. "This is interesting. This engraving right here says this was a gift to a Captain Ryuuji Okonogi from a Major E. Hyodo of the United States." Mitsuki showed the engraving to Marika.

"Hmm… this is quite the family heirloom I see.

"I don't want to believe this man is related to a national hero, but this pistol is undeniable proof he is."

"Anyway, there's more to search. Let's check his closet."

"Yes, Onee-sama." The girls continued there search.

 **Masaya's POV**

 **0600hrs**

"Jesus Christ… it's cold outside." I usually was got with cold weather but that's becausee I'd have a jacket and pants when I headed out. The two girls were taking there time checking my room and I was walking around the entrance pathway waiting for my Vincennes issued phone to go off. When I first got to Vincennes, Sister Mishima gave the phone because these phones were encrypted and can only be used for e-mail and phone calls within school perimeters unless it was a parent which wasn't a concern for me as both my parents disappeared of the face of the earth. Honestly the rules concerning outside contact were pretty messed up. I had heard of sheltered kids, met a couple back at Eitatsu but that was nothing compared to the girls here at Vincennes. I guess it worked for them though. Everyone here followed the rules so well that there was practically no rules inside the school itself. I asked Rise about the strict phone rules once and she just said _"We know each other so well that we really don't need these phones. Although it might be a problem for you."_

" _*scoff* It won't be. All the people I know are either six feet under or back at my old school, with me being a forgotten memory in their pasts._

" _I see… then what about your pare- ah…"_

" _Thanks for not finished that sentence, Rise…"_ Thinking back on that conversation had me thinking about my old friends from Eitatsu, especially Chiho Sagisawa, my childhood best friend who was my first ever friend. When I fled Tsurugigoaka, I had no way to communicate with her or any of my other friends and I assumed they continued going through Eitatsu without me. As I walked past a rose garden Vincennes had, I started to smell the scent of freshly baked bread. I turned into the garden when I saw someone in there. _Oh shit!_ I jumped behind a bush for cover and stuck my head out a little.

 **Now Playing: Feigned Ignorance- Princess Evangile OST**

There was a girl sitting on a table with a basket of baguettes, she was playing with some animal. _What the hell is that thing?"_ It looked like a stoat to me but what intrigued me was the little top hat it had on. _It's strange though. Does Vincennes have an animal care club. Rise never showed me any livestock stables, nor have I seen students walking dogs or cats._ I wanted to get a closer look so I crouched from cover to cover, trying to avoid getting spotted by the girl. She then started talking to the animal.

"Panterbell. Will you eat bread? Pan, taberu."

"Kuu!" The animal, named Panterbell let out a squeal that sounded like a 'kuu'.

"..,Oh dear, when did I start saying 'taberu' like that." Panterbell let out anotherr kuu as it snuggled a little to the girl. "Will you eat your bread? If you don't, you won't get a croissant." Panterbell shot up and started to kuu frantically as if saying 'No, please don't'. "*giggle* Just kidding. I made this croissant just for you." Panterbell let out a happier kuu and started to eat the croissant the girl gave him. The girl looked at him like loving mother. I had noticed that the girl, like every other girl at the school was very beautiful. "Do you like it, Panterbell?" Panterbell gave another happy kuu. _Huh… smart little bugger._ I had just realised that I hadn't eaten anything since dinner last night as my stomach made and audible growl. _Shite!_ I heard Panterbell let out a concerned kuu. "What is it, Panterbell?" Panterbell kuu'd more and tried to point the girl to my direction, but she didn't catch on. "Ah… you want a country roll tomorrow?" Panterbell started kuuing frantically again as If saying 'There's a crazy man in the bushes'. Not wanting to risk being found, I turned around to the entrance to the rose garden when.

*snap* I accidentally snapped a twig, letting out a snap that seemed to break the sound barrier. The girl looked to the sound of the noise and caught me. "Ahh… a disembodied head!" The bushes still covered most of my body, but I quickly stood up to show her I was not a severed head.

 **Now Playing: Insanity- Princess Evangile OST**

"Easy there, love. I'm not a severed head." I put my hands up. The girl stared blankly at me.

"You're…"

"The transfer student, Masaya Okonogi. Pleasure to meet you." I gave a bow from the bush. "Don't get the wrong idea here. I don't mean to cause you trouble." _She wouldn't believe that if she saw my lower half._

"*giggle* I believe you. You don't look like you would. I noticed that when you introduced yourself during the opening ceremony last week. Anyway, my name is Ruriko Kaminagi, a pleasure to meet you as well, Masaya Okonogi." Ruriko bowed as she introduced herself. "And this is my faithful companion, Panterbell." She stroked Panterbell's back while the little creature raised a forelimb to me as if saying 'A pleasure to meet you, Masaya Okonogi'. _That little mate is pretty smart for a stoat or whatever the hell it is._

 **Now Playing: The Usual Times- Princess Evangile OST**

"Quite the smart animal. Panterbell… the name suits it. Is Panterbell a stoat?"

"A stoat? Oh, you're asking what species he is. Quite honestly, I don't really know myself."

"Hmm… I see." Ruriko seemed laid back compared to the other girls at the school, at least she wasn't running for the hills when she saw me. "Although, it is strange. You're the only person I've seen with a pet. Does Vincennes have a animal care club."

"No, I'm afraid it doesn't. I found Panterbell up in the mountains during last year's summer camp. He was sick and had just been abandoned by his previous owner as he had a collar. I nursed him back to health and he's been my pet ever since."

"Wow, that's a cute story. You're a very kind person, Ruriko But Panterbell is an unusual name. Why did you name him that?"

"Because he loves bread or 'pan'. So I called him Panterbell."

"Pan, taberu. To eat bread. I get it, it's a nice name. Although maybe 'Pankuu' would be better. He says kuu a lot."

"You're not the first person to tell me that…" Ruriko looked a little pouty when I told her that. "Everyone I know calls him Pankuu. They tell me it suits him more."

"I'm sorry for saying what I said then. Besides Panterbell is what you named him and no random bloke you just met is gonna change that."

"You're a kind man, Masaya. Most people here want to call him what they want without asking me if it's fine with me."

"I'm really not a kind man, Ruriko. Just ask your classmates and they'll tell you about my sarcastic nature."

"Don't let what other say be what defines you. They tell me you're a cold and sad man, but I see a kind and considerate man in you."

"I doubt it but thanks."

"Here. Take this baguette as a thank you gift from me." Ruriko took a baguette from her basket hand offered it to me like I was a stray dog.

"Oh, t-thank you." I went up to take the baguette when I realised. "Oh shit!" I had walked out of the bush without realising that I was still in just my t-shirt and boxers. "Look, I can explain."

"Were you out jogging, Masaya."

"What?! I mean uh… yeah, I was jogging. I usually wake up early for a jog. Heh… keeps the blood pumping and my mine focused for the day." _Thank God these girls don't know shit about men._

"I respect what you do, though I'm a terrible runner myself. You must be exhausted, so please take the baguette." I hesitantly walked up to Ruriko and took the baguette from her. I felt a little guilty about the lie but it was better than her thinking I was a pervert like the rest of the school.

"It's pretty warm. Did you bake these, Ruriko?" I took a bite of the baguette.

"Yes, I'm in the bread baking club. So while you jog, I'm awake making bread."

"That's a unique club. My old school didn't have a bread baking club."

"Did it really? I guess that's because Vincennes was originally a mission."

"Yeah… the Chairwoman told me this places history."

"Yes, bread is a Eucharist in holy ma-" Before Ruriko could finish her sentence, my phone went off. I checked it to see Mitsuki's name whichh meant they had finished their inspection.

"Hmph… about time."

"What is it."

"Nothing. I need to get back to my room."

"Oh, can I accompany you? I was going back to the dormitory as well."

"Sure, I guess. Come on then." We walked out of the rose garden and Ruriko continued her explanation of bread being a Eucharist in Christianity during a holy mass.

"At the Last Supper. Jesus gave each of his disciples a piece of bread and said that it was his body. And that's how the ritual came to be."

"Heh… sounds a little like cannibalism to me. Sorry, It just that I don't really know about anything in the bible. Never got around to reading it."

"It's fine. I doubt that your school had religious theory as a subject as it wasn't built from a mission." As Ruriko talked some more, I took another bite of the baguette.

"This is really good, Ruriko. I'd say you could be a professional baker one day."

"Oh, you're too kind, Masaya. I've been baking bread since I was a child so I've had plenty of practice."

"Heh… at least you have a talent. All I'm good for is shooting a gun and dodging loan sharks."

"Don't be like that. You're more than that. You seem to be very smart and mature. Though do your people always eat while walking?"

"I guess. Why, is it bad manners?"

"No, I don't think so. It's just a little unusual."

"You may be right."

"Excuse me, Masaya. This is a strange question but… due to a personal circumstance, I want to know more about men. So I thought that if I got to know more about you. Then I would be more knowledgeable about men."

"Well then, good thing I'm here. One of my main objectives while I'm here is to interact with as many of you girls as possible. So, I'd be happy to let you know more about me, and what a miserable bastard I am."

"Very well then, if I may." Ruriko lowered her gaze down to my lower area.

"What are you staring at?"

"Nothing, I'm just wondering what brand of jogging shorts you are wearing."

"I don't really know myself. I think there Uniclo."

"Hmm… Uniclo. I'll remember that." We walked back to the dorms quietly from there and got to the entrance. "Well, it seems here is where we part ways."

"I guess so. Thanks again for the bread."

"No worries, you needed after all." Ruriko walked away and Panterbell gave me a kuu and a wave goodbye. _That is one of the most intelligent animals I have ever seen. But what did she mean by personal circumstances?_ I decided to not worry about it and I walked into the dorm entrance. I was heading back to my room when the bell to breakfast rang.

"Oh shit…" I started running back to my room, I got to my hallway and sprinted to my door but doors were already starting to open.

"Good morning, Sayako."

"Good morning, Yurio- Ahh!"

 **Now Playing: Insanity- Princess Evangile OST**

I tried to slide by the two girls and make it back to my room. I grabbed the door knob as a book hit me in the back of the head. "You pervert!" The two girls started throwing school supplies like textbooks to maths protractors at me. "This is why I hate men! You in particular!"

"Ow… cut it out with the bloody textbooks!" Soon other doors started to open.

"What is going on here- Ahh!" More girls joined in and started throwing their school supplies at me when a calm voice spoke out.

"Please stop this at once. There is an explanation for this. You can stop attacking Masaya here."

"Why is **La Toute Souer** helping him?"

"Whatever reason could it be?"

"I'm sorry, Masaya." Marika bowed in an apologetic manner.

"Look, he made **Grande Fleur** apologize to him."

"That fiend!" _Keep blaming why don't you._

"Why don't you lot ever shut your God damn mouths for once, huh?!" I yelled at the girls how look at me with a mix of fear and anger.

"Peace, everyone. It was my fault. I carelessly sent Masaya out here so I can inspect his room.

"Yeah… you sure as hell took your sweet arse time doing that, did you…"

"Was that sarcasm?" Mitsuki looked at me with an angered expression. I shot back at her.

"No, of course it wasn't, love. Why, this is how I alwayss speak."

"You're tongue is as sharp as ever. You really have no common decency."

"I'm just not a gullible and stupid as some people would like me to be."

"Whatever, here's your clothes." Mitsuki handed me a neatly folded pair of pants and one of my button up shirts.

"Our search found nothing wrong with your dorm. I was quite relieved."

"Like I said… I had nothing. But you insisted that I leave while you check my room."

"Very well then, salutations, Masaya." I rolled my eyes a little and let out an annoyed groan as Marika got all the girl's attention. "Excuse me, everyone. There's nothing to be afraid of. Masaya has not done anything wrong, yet…" _Yet? Hopefully never._ The girls in the hallway quickly followed Marika and Mitsuki to the dining hall.

"Pfft… what a bunch of brainless sheep…" I closed my door, took a shower, and got dressed for the day.

 **0945hrs**

 **Now Playing: Dignified(Rise's Theme)- Princess Evangile OST**

During the break time between first and second period. Rise started to get after me for what happened earlier in the morning. "For heaven's sake. What were you thinking, Masaya?"

"*sigh* I'm sorry."

"Everyone is talking about what happened. If you were at the dining hall, I don't think you would've heard the end of it. Honestly I'm impressed, in the matter of a two days, you've managed to cause this much of an uproar within the students here."

"How many times am I gonna have to say sorry before you forgive me?"

"A lot. Look, just be lucky **Sombre Scanner** wasn't there. I don't know what I'd do if you ended up on the school newspaper for that."

"Sombre Scanner? Who the hell is that?"

"The news club's ace reporter. Her real name is Tamie Nogi. Anyway, what even actually happened? I'm afraid that the stories I heard at breakfast were exaggerated or completely false." I put my feet on my desk and told Rise what happened.

"Hmph… our divine and dear student council president, Marika and her little lapdog, Mitsuki barged into my room demanding that I let them inspect my room for 'illicit material' I said yes when they demanded I take of my pants and threw me outside with just a shirt and boxers. Coincidentally, Marika and Mitsuki finished their search right as the bell to breakfast rang."

"Hmm… very suspicious. I wouldn't expect Marika to do something like that." The bell rang for second period and the teacher came in to start the lesson. We couldn't talk until the bell for break time between second and third period rang. As Rise and I talked, a girl with a cat hat came in and came up to Rise.

"Rise, do you already know what happened? I'm so mad I didn't get any pictures of the event. Oh, you must be Masaya Okonogi. My name is Tamie Nogi, ace reporter for the La Mode Quotidenne, it's nice to meet you." Tamie extended her hand and I shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too, Tamie."

"So, what happened earlier today that's causing such a fuss. Don't worry, I'll only put what you said In the paper. 'Neutral and Impartial. Fair and Balanced' is our motto. You won't see any rose or lily colored lenses here." I told Tamie what happened and she took her leave as class was about to start.

 **1230hrs**

The bell for lunch rang and Rose took me to Maria Hall, the building built specifically for the student council and the Associations. Rise took me there the previous day for the official election of Society leaders.

 **April 5th, 2011**

 **Now Playing: Mozart/Concerto in Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C Major, K229 #1**

"Masaya, this is Maria Hall. It's the official building for the student council." The building was a little older than the recently renovated dorms and school building. I guessed they wanted to keep these how it was when they first built it. "Masaya can you wait outside the White Lily room. This shouldn't take long. I just hope someone shows up." Rise was referring to what happened in the Chairwoman's office the previous day. In the blink of an eye, she lost all of her members because they refused to fight for gender integration.

"Pfft… that ain't gonna happen."

"Masaya…" Rise looked at me in a disgusted manner.

"What? You remember what they did yesterday. You're by yourself in this fight. I'll do all that I can as an affiliate, but you're the only official member of the White Lily Society now." She didn't want to agree with me but I was right. When those girls gave her their ribbons, it was like they were revoking their memberships to the society.

"You're sadly right… Come on, let's go inside." Rise led to the White Lily Society room, it was a nice little room with a table and chairs, a window overlooking the courtyard in the centre of the building and strange looking painting.

"What's this?" I asked Rise about the painting. It was painted in a blurry design and looked like a warrior standing on top of a mountain with a shining sword, with the words. _'Blessed are the Peacemakers. For they shall be called, the sons of God- Matthew 5:9'_

"I don't really know. I asked my grandmother but she said that it was a painting made when Vincennes was still a mission."

"…Strange. Anyway is that it?"

"Yes, I'm now officially the leader of the White Lily Society by default."

 **April 6th, 2011**

We walked into Maria Hall and headed to the courtyard to eat. "I'll make some tea. By the way, you do know the layout of this building?"

"Not really no…"

"Okay then. Maria Hall is in the shape of a pentagon. At the entrance is the White Lily and Red Rose Society rooms. Just remember this so you don't get mixed up. Lily starts with a L so our room is to the left while Rose starts with a R so it's on the right side."

"L for left, R for right. Got it."

"There's also a storage room, lounge, and the Student Council office, but I doubt you'll be going there." Rise stopped talking and led me to the courtyard.

"Wow, this place is beautiful. It's very open and relaxing." The courtyard was littered with trees and flowers and the walkways were old style stone pavement.

"Yes, I love coming here during the Spring time. The weather is always nice here." Rise told me to sit down at one of the tables while she went to a kitchenette nearby to start brewing the tea. I started to look around to see a figure walking around inside, looking my way, I waved at them in a friendly manner. The figure turned out to be Ritsuko, the girl Rise was talking to on the first day of school.

 **Now Playing: Elegant Thorn(Ritsuko's Theme)- Princess Evangile OST**

"Salutations, Mr. Okonogi. Are you here by yourself?"

"Nah, I'm here with Rise. She's at the kitchenette right now making some tea. How are you doing today?"

"I'm fine. But I have to ask. Why do you carry that weapon with you?" Ritsuko pointed to my M1911A1 in my holster.

"I-I carry with me because, I'm ready incase of a Chinese attack. You've probably haven't heard about all the terrorist attacks carried out by Chinese nationalists against Japanese civilians."

"No, I haven't. Has the war became that bad?"

"Yep, and it's only getting worse, and will probably drag on for a while longer."

"It's a shame that such a thing as war exists. Who really wins in a war?"

"…The politicians and their arms industry friends who give them money caked in the blood of the soldiers and innocent people. Sorry I didn't mean to get that serious. This isn't the place to discuss politics, nor do I think you care."

"No, I care quite a lot. My uncle was killed in action a few years ago in China. His whole platoon was wiped out by a Chinese assault because of his battalion commander's incompetence, at least that's what my father says."

"Hmm… I'm sorry about you uncle. I don't have any family in the military right now. Heh… I don't have a family anymore, so I can't relate to losing a relative to this meaningless war that costed us thousands of deaths."

"How many people have been killed in the fighting."

"All together? I'd say close to ten million soldiers and civilians have died."

"That is heartbreaking that so many have died in such short time."

"Heh… the realities of modern warfare. Anyway, let's drop this discussion. It's making me feel more bitter and depressed than I usually am."

"Yes…" I took a look at Ritsuko. She was petite and didn't show that much outward emotions. She almost reminded me of a porcelain doll. Rise came back with a kettle of tea.

"Oh, Ritsuko. Care for some tea."

"No, thank you. I want to congratulate you on becoming the leader of the White Lily Society.

"Thanks you. Why are being formal?"

"W-Well, the truth is…" Before she finished what she was saying, Mitsuki, Who wasn't with Marika for once came up to us. _Oh great…_

"Ritsuko, have you done the traditional greetings."

"I was about to."

"Hello, Mitsuki." Rise waved at Mitsuki, the latter just nodding at the gesture. "Ritsuko, what did she mean about a 'traditional greeting'?"

"It's because, I was entrusted with the position of leader of the Red Rose Society."

"Excuse me?" Rise looked a little surprised. She told last week that the Associations basically pick who will be the leader during the final days of the school year with her being the White Lily's pick and Mitsuki being the Red Rose's pick. "How did this happen."

"I declined the offer to be the Red Rose Society's leader as I thought Ritsuko would be a better leader. There's no rule that says that a first year student can't be society leader."

"But I thought you wanted the position, Mitsuki."

"You thought wrong then, Rise."

"What's going on?"

"I'd assume you'd catch on by now, **Soleil D'Ecole**. And you Masaya Okonogi. I want to inform you that under normal circumstances, no one will associate with you. And that you will not be welcomed anywhere you go."

"Oh, you think I haven't already figured that out yet. It doesn't take a fucking brain surgeon to figure that out."

"Profanity will get you no where. I'll tell you this. The only reason a lowlife like you is allowed even to talk to us is because of Rise here, It is because of the students admiration for her that you are allowed even one second in this institution."

"Why don't you shut your damn mouth and think before you say something you'll regret."

"Are you threatened me, Okonogi."

"Oh, this isn't even close to a threat from me…" I stared her down like I was in a Western movie waiting to draw my revolver on her.

"How can you be that antagonistic to each other. Masaya's reason of being here is to provide an example of a man of good character."

"Not everyone is as naïve as you to trust a man like him. I can't ignore the influence you have at this school. It's second only to Marika."

"…You've changed, Mitsuki. You'd never be this rude to anyone like you are to Masaya."

"Maybe it's because unlike you, I know when there's a threat to the school. Anyway, about Ritsuko's inauguration. As the Chairwoman said, this year's Associations will be crucial in the decision for integration. The Grande Vote at the end of the year can't just be a popularity vote. It has to be a well thought out vote for the future of Vincennes. As such I decided that Ritsuko would be more suitable for this fight. After all, **Belle Epine** is as popular and influential as you, Soleil D'Ecole."

"I thought you said that popularity doesn't matter in the long run. Guess you just contradicted yourself in the same bloody sentence."

"You keep out of this, Okonogi. This has nothing to do with you."

"I think it rather does. This is about the vote at the end of the year which is the reason why I'm here in the first place."

"Hold your tongue. You might not even make it to the Grande Vote. I wager you'll be kicked out before even the Premier Judgement. I will make this as clear as possible so even your mind can comprehend. I hate men, and to suggest that Vincennes will integrate is absurd. This is an all girls school, and will be until the end of time. _This bitch is really starting to piss me off._ Anyway, that's all I have to say. Excuse me." Mitsuki took her leave and I cursed her under my breath some more.

"I don't want to agree with Mitsuki but, she's right in saying that there's nothing in the rules that say I can't be an Association leader. However, I don't feel I am capable of the responsibility of being leader of the Red Rose Society."

"Don't say that, Ritsuko. You're a natural born leader, I would be honored if you were my opponent in this election."

"Rise's right. You're a calm presence and you know how to handle stressful situations. Though personally, I can't help but think Mitsuki is just using you like a pawn in her master's game."

"You really don't seem to like Mitsuki and Marika at all, Masaya."

"Why should I? They've made it very obvious that they'll try to kick me out at every opportunity they get. Do I hate them? I don't know. But I think there's something fishy going on."

"I hope you're not right, Masaya. Regardless, I must take my leave now. And Rise, I too am honorerd to be your opponent in this election." Ritsuko shook Rise's hand and bowed towards me and left the courtyard. Rise and I then went to a table and Rise poured some tea into some cups that looked Victorian in style.

 **Now Playing- Dignifed(Rise's Theme)- Princess Evangile OST**

"Ah… this tea is delicious. A bit cold but it doesn't matter. I say, Fortnum and Mason is the only black tea worth drinking."

"Fortnum… and Mason…?" I gave a confused look at Rise.

"Oh, have you never had their tea?"

"No, remember Rise, I'm the guy who could barely afford a Snickers bar from a corner store, much less know a high class tea brand by taste. The only teas I get were the cheap 100 yen ones that come in little bags."

"Bags? I think you mean a satchel."

"Is that what they're properly called. Jesus, I've been calling them tea bags all my life."

"I guess so… I see the gap between our financial standings is wider than I thought."

"Yep, as big as the Grand Canyon." I took a sip out of my cup. "Jesus, this is really good." The tea had a dark indigo colour and had a taste that blew all the usual artificial flavoured teas out of the water.

"*giggle* You know, I find it quite enjoyable when I see you eating so happily. It's almost like your cold exterior warms up and the real you shows up."

"I wouldn't go that far. it's just that I've never had high class food in my life, granted anything beats what I usually had. One anpan and a can of milk." I took another sip out of the tea when Rise spoke up again.

"Masaya, I wanted to have a short strategy discussion, is that fine?"

"Sure, shoot."

"Okay, you know how this will go right. You charm the girls long enough so when the Premier Judgement happens, you'll be allowed to stay, right?"

"Yep, but only if the approve of me by a majority, right?"

"Right. And after the Premier Judgement, we have to focus our efforts on winning the Grande Vote at the end of the year, securing my position as student council president next year and insuring that gender integration to go into effect."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Yes. However, we need more people. You and I alone can't win this. But with some more allies, I'm sure we can pull it off. So here's the plan. You try to expand your social circle like I already told you, while I will either try and convince my former allies to rejoin or start looking for new affiliates like you." Rise took a sip from her tea and then continued. "I doubt any of others will come back so we'll have to prioritize on expanding your social circle. We need the other girls here to really know who you are… I'll have a talk with Tamie about doing an interesting. You need publicity for people to know you."

"I just hope that my family history doesn't cause the girls to hate me even more." I was referring to my father who was a abusive and gambling drunk who caused my mother to run away and disappear and then abandoned me to die multiple times.

"I hope they will feel sympathetic to you. You've suffered so much in your life, but this is where you'll find a new life, with us."

" _You will find redemption, you're happiness, and you will find love. You will find your Garden of Eden."_ Those words rang in my head, I remembered some one said that to me on the day my mother left, my 10th birthday. "You're right. I want to be here until I graduate. And in order to do that, I'll have to fight to get there. Let's get to work on getting my approval up." Rise and I shook hands and we walked together back to the school building with vigour in our hearts.

 **April 11th, 2011**

 **1230hrs**

 **Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **Now Playing: Thoughtless as Usual- Princess Evangile OST**

It had been a whole week since school started and I had no luck with expanding my social circles. I tried to appear as approachable and as likeable as possible but the girls would just run away(usually screaming bloody murder). I was just about to give up on trying to talk to the other students. "*sigh* I'm so fucked…"

"Don't give up. You have to keep fighting, Masaya." Ruriko was the only person that was fucked to actually talk to me after I met her during my room inspection. She and Panterbell were like cheerleaders for Rise and I.

"Agh… but how the bloody hell do I get these girls not to start running for the hills before I even say 'Hello my name is…'? You got any ideas, Ruriko?"

"Hmm.., maybe if you gave them bread. You like bread after all

"Hmph… because that's all I would eat because it was cheap. Besides, I don't know how to bake." I started bang my forehead on the desk in frustration. "I don't know what to do at this point. It's not like I can afford a aeroplane to fly a banner that says 'He's not as bad as he looks'."

"*giggle* I do enjoy your humor, Masaya. As course as it is."

"Maybe Yanase's right. I could secretly be a comedian..,"

"Who's Yanase?"

"A guy I know from outside Vincennes. No one special."

"Oh well, I must be going. Farewell, Masaya." Ruriko left the room and soon after Tamie walked in.

"You really have a hard fight on your hands, don't you?"

"You can say that. I told Rise this would be like a four year old trying to fight 'The Predator'" Tamie had been talking to me and Rise since we met last week. Even though Rise told me to do an interview, I wasn't comfortable with telling anyone about my childhood.

"Well don't sweat it. You're probably the first guy they've seen in their life. I mean, you do have a certain charm that managed to get **Bijou Bleu** to open up to you."

"Who the hell is that?"

"Ruriko. Did Rise ever tell you about what titles are?"

"No. I just assumed they were a nickname."

"Eh… you're basically right but apparently there's more to it than that. Basically they things that describe who the person is. For example, my title is Sombre Scanner which is French for 'Scanner of the Dark. Here's another example, Rise's title is Soleil D'Ecole which means 'Sun of the School'. I think you got the picture, right!"

"Yeah, a nickname system with the names deriving from French. I wonder what my title would be."

"Not everyone gets a title, Masaya. Those who do usually have a reason to or are very popular. You on the other hand, well you're infamous, I can tell you that. Anyway, how did you manage to get Ruriko to talk to you?"

"I uh… I just approached her and we hit it off well. She said she was very interested in learning about men." I didn't mention that this was during the time I was outside in my boxers. Tamie and I talked some more when Rise came back from trying to convince her former society members to rejoin.

"Ugh… it's hopeless." Rise dropped right down into her seat and slammed her head on the table in a defeated manner.

"I assume things didn't go well."

"You're correct. I couldn't get a single one of them to rejoin. How are you doing on your task?"

"Not any better than you. Every girl I've interacted with ran away in fear. There's one girl in particular that hides behind her journal every time I pass by her class."

"Darn it." Rise just put her head down in defeat. Tamie asked me a question.

"What class is this girl in?"

"2-B."

"Hmm… I don't know who it is. It's surprising though. I wouldn't have thought someone would actually try to hide when you're near."

"Oh well, it can't be helped. Here, I got an idea." Rise shot back up, her determination was really strong. "Instead of trying to get old members back in. We just get more affiliates. Out with the old, in with the new as they say."

"That's a good idea. Though you can count me out. I have to stay neutral, even though I rather like you, Masaya."

"It's fine, although you can help by reporting that we're recruiting supporters, nothing more." We talked some more until Tamie had to leave because was about to begin.

 **Ruriko's POV**

 **Class 2-B**

 **1430hrs**

 **Now Playing: Childhood Friend(Chiho's Theme)- Princess Evangile OST**

The bell for break time had rang and Chiho and I started to talk. Chiho was a student that started attending last year after going to a school named Eitatsu Auxiliary Academy. She was a kind girl and was very smart and athletic. "Chiho, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Ruriko. What is it?"

"What do you think about the transfer student, Masaya Okonogi?"

"I-Well, I don't know. It's not like I've met him."

"Hmm… oh well, He's really nice even though he doesn't think he is. I've had so little interactions with boys that I felt immediately drawn to him."

"Is that so?" Chiho was turning red and started to fumble with her words.

"Well, I think you should introduce yourself to him. He's a very welcoming person, at least for me."

"I-I don't know, he looks a little.., you know… scary."

"I don't think he looks frightening. He looks very handsome yet lost in a way."

"I-I think I'll pass." Chiho looked down at her journal before bringing it up to her face.

 **Masaya's POV**

 **Now Playing: Dignified(Rise's Theme)- Princess Evangile OST**

The final bell ending the day rang and everyone started to leave. "Are you ready, Masaya? We need to start recruiting more to our cause."

"Yeah, just give me a sec to write the last of these notes." I wrote down the notes and closed my journal and put it in my bag. "Alright, I'm good to go." We walked out into the hallway where Tamie meet up with us.

"You guys gonna start recruiting people?"

"Yes, it's good to strike while the iron is hot."

"Cool. So what class are you gonna hit first?"

"I thought about going to 2-B and see who we could get besides Ruriko. There's one girl in particular I think will say yes." We walked to 2-B when I spoke up.

"This is the class where that one girl hides herself when I pass by here."

"I don't think that's who will say yes, but you never know." Rise, Tamie, and I walked into the room which bursted into whispers when Rise walked in.

"Oh my, It's Soleil D'Ecole." I took a look around the classroom to see the girl already hiding behind her notebook. _Those twin tails look familiar but I can't quite put my finger on where I remember them from._ Rise started to walk towards the desks, her destination was the girl who had her face hidden behind her notebook.

"Excuse me, Chiho is it?" As soon as Rise said that name I shot up in shock.

 **Now Playing: Sorrow- Princess Evangile OST**

"What?!"

"Masaya? Are you okay?"

"I-It's nothing." _Think about this rationally Masaya, Chiho is a common name. It could be that it isn't her._ I started to slowly walk up to the girl. Rise and Ruriko giving me worried looks. Although the girls face was covered it all made sense to me now. The light brown twin tails were exactly the style that my childhood best friend had when we were growing up. "Ch-Chiho Sagisawa, is that your name?" I came right up to her desk and as soon as I did, Chiho slammed her notebook on the desk and stood up to face me. She had a very hostile air around her and she looked like she was about to hit me. "Heh… It's been awhile, huh?"

"…You… Traitor!" Before I could react, Chiho raised her hand in the air and slapped me right across my left cheek. I shot back in pain a little and the girls were shocked except for Tamie who somehow got her camera and started taking pictures. I yelled back at Chiho for the first time in my life.

 **Now Playing: Insanity- Princess Evangile OST**

"Ow! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Chiho didn't even answer me. She just ran away from the room in a rage.

"Oh boy! This is probably one of the biggest scoops I've gotten. Wait up, Chiho." Tamie ran out of the class chasing Chiho. Not only was Chiho's exit dramatic, the other girls in the class went up in a frenzy.

"Did you see what Chiho did? Violence? Actual violence here at Vincennes."

"Not surprised coming from a Final Course Tourist and this man."

"Just what exactly happened between you to, I wonder?"

"Masaya, I thought you were a good man. I hope I wasn't wrong."

"Hmph… I need some fresh air… Don't even bother following me." I stormed out of the room half mad and headed back to my dorm room.

 **No POV**

 **1730hrs**

 **Maria Hall, Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **Now Playing: Mozart/Concerto in Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C Major, K229 #1**

Marika and Mitsuki were in the student council room discussing what had just happened in Class 2-B between Masaya and Chiho. "Hmm… so that's what happened."

"Yes, it's causing quite the stir. I already talked to the teachers. They will dole out punishments tomorrow.

"I see… though this isn't the first act of violence in Vincennes' history."

"I know but… this one concerns Masaya Okonogi. If he had something to do with it. Then I assure you, it can't be good."

"*giggle* I do wonder what it could have been for him to slapped in such a manner. I guess we'll find out soon."

"I heard that men outside your immediate family are foul beasts that lust for women like us. I would assume Masaya is one of those beasts."

"I don't know. We found nothing illicit in his dorm room. Then again, he could be putting up a front. He's cleaver as he is mysterious. Which is why we need to purge him from Vincennes by any means necessary."

"I'll happily agree with you there, Marika."

 **That concludes Chapter 2 revised of Shepherds of War Anthology: Princess Evangile. I hope it was enjoyable. Stay tuned for Chapter 10: Example of a Good Samaritan and the revised version of Chapter 3: A Friendship Rekindled. Until next time- Shepherds12**


	4. Chapter 3: A Friendship Rekindled

**Author's Notes: This is just a quick little thing before the chapter starts I want to say that this story is thanks to my favorite YouTuber Lost Pause for getting into Princess Evangile and just VN in general, another thing is I've recently been watching The Fruit of Grisaia and I'm going to be trying my best to make Masaya'a character feel like Yuuji's as both suffered from traumatic experiences and live secret lives hidden from their friends. Without further ado Chapter 3 begins now.**

Chapter 3- A Friendship Rekindled

 **Masaya's POV**

 **April 15** **th** **, 2011**

It's been almost a week since me and Chiho first saw each other in more than a year ago, I must admit she's grown quite a lot since, after she slapped me in the face I decided to bring up her Imperial Record

 _Chiho Sagisawa_

 _DOB: 8/30/94_

 _Age: 16 years old_

 _Parents: Captain Daisuke Sagisawa, ex-Imperial Commando and famed martial artist and Yumio Sagisawa, a local primary school teacher._

 _Sex: Female_

 _Height: 5ft 6in_

 _Weight: 124lb_

 _Race: Asian_

 _Occupation: unemployed_

"That's my Chiho, no doubt about it-"

"Masaya, it's Rise can I come in?"

"Sure… who else is with you?"

"Wha- how did you know Tamie was here with me?"

"I can feel the presence of two people; I just assumed it was Ruriko."

"C'mon Masaya, stop being a stone wall and let me interview you, after that stuff with Chiho your favorability with the student body is at rock bottom."

"Argh… fine I'll do you damn interview, just be prepared my life isn't exactly what you call pleasant."

"Fine by me, give as many juicy details as possible."

"Right… for starts I was born on August 8th 1994 in Tokyo, my mother is the eldest daughter to General Sir Charles Wellington of the British Army, she was a dignified woman; a true lady and the only one I had joy with, she left my father when I was 10 years old, ever since then my life has been nothing but a miserable hell, my old bastard of a father continued to treat me like I was a mistake or the bastard child of another man. There were many times I felt like I wanted to die or I wished to end his wretched life, but I always held back. During this time me and Chiho started to become the best of friends, after my mother left she was one of the only people that keep me from going insane and from killing myself."

" _You were a mistake! The child of another man! You should have never been born!"_

"Masaya, who was your father?"

"The bastard's name is Shinya; if you want to know why I act like this maybe you should ask him."

"This may be a touchy subject but how did you get those scars?"

"…an accident, I hope this is the last time I have to answer that question."

"One more question. Why do you wear a glove on your left hand?"

*sigh* "guess I have to be honest. Very well, Rise you know what I have to show Tamie."

"I took off the button shirt I had on and removed the glove covering my cybernetic arm and showed it to Tamie who was shocked to see it."

"How did you lose your arm?"

"The same accident as before."

"Well… this has been an interesting interview, you're quite the ghost Masaya; but hopefully the others will warm up to you, well salutations Rise, Masaya."

"Likewise Tamie. Masaya is it true, your life has been miserable."

"…Yes, that old bastard physically and mentally abused me for far too long. I'm actually glad I won't see his sorry arse again."

"Well hopefully this will go smoothly, I should be going to, see you tomorrow."

"Right, goodnight Rise."

 _Now that I'm alone I should investigate the identity of Yuuji Okonogi._

I used the mini-computer on my cybernetic arm to search the Imperial Army Databanks, according to Yanase he was the best commando he ever knew meaning he must have been quite the hero to the Empire.

"Let's see if I type in Okonogi maybe I'll get something. What? Just two results.

One the screen the only names listed in the Okonogi search results were myself and a Lieutenant General Ryosuke Okonogi.

"Who's this Ryosuke Okonogi?"

 _Ryosuke Okonogi_

 _DOB: 10/14/45_

 _DOD: 4/16/93_

 _Age: 47(As of his death)_

 _Parents: Ryuuji Okonogi- a career soldier and commander of the 1_ _st_ _Calvary Division._

 _Elsa von Stroheim- German immigrant and daughter to Waffen SS Major Gunter von Stroheim_

 _Spouse: Tomoka Kawasaki_

 _Children: Shinya Okonogi_

 _Yuuji Okonogi_

"So this Ryosuke Okonogi is my grandfather from my dad's side; looks like he died a year before I was born. How he must be so disappointed with my father. Wait Yuuji Okonogi is related to me, he's my uncle, but why didn't my mom or dad or Yanase tell me?!"

Unexpectedly I grew immensely angry and punched the wall, leaving me with a large crack in the wall and a bloody knuckle.

"Argh! That fucking hurt, I really have to keep my temper in check."

*knock* "Masaya is everything alright? The students heard screaming and a loud bang."

"Ah… yeah everything's fine Sister, I just tripped on my suitcase."

"Ok, just be careful not to seriously hurt yourself."

"Got it, I'll be going to bed now."

"Yes, you should goodnight Masaya."

I went to sleep to clear my head but the revelation was still ringing in my head, I tried to think of something else.

"You're a foolish young boy, I'm Colonel Shang-Wu of the People's Liberation Army, and you like you shipmates will fall on this day."

The words of the Chinese colonel haunt me to this day, maybe he was right the old Masaya died on that day and has been replaced by me, a hard shell of his former self.

 **April 16** **th** **, 2011**

"Masaya, the headmistress wants to speak to you after class just to let you know."

"Acknowledged, is there anything else I should know."

"No, by the way, why do you have bandages on your hand?"

"Oh… when I tripped I cut my hand up real bad."

"I see, well anyways we should get back to our lesson."

"You really messed up Masaya, just letting you know that."

"What, what's so bad about dealing with the headmistress, if anything I'll probably be blunt and sarcastic like with Mitsuki."

"You don't get it Masaya; the headmistress is the de facto leader of the Traditionalists, she's a staunch conservative when it comes to Vincennes politics."

"Hmph… all the more reason to be a smart arse."

"Honestly Masaya, you weren't kidding when you said you're more of a soldier then a politician."

"It's true, left or right, black or white; it doesn't matter to me."

*ring*

"Well looks like I have to go to ''the devil's'' office according to you."

"I'm serious Masaya, that woman will be relentless in driving you out, plus your shoot first ask question later philosophy will worsen the situation."

"It depends whether the headmistress decides to be respectful or a complete bitch will I be an arse or not."

"This can't end well but if that's your plan, go for it."

I walked out of the classroom and headed to the headmistress office when I met up with a more than unhappy Chiho.

"Hey Chiho, it's been a while."

"Don't talk to me you backstabbing murdering idiot!"

"Now's where's that wild accusation coming from."

"None of your business, your moron!"

After a quick exchange of words we entered the headmistress office, it was what you'd expect from a high-class boarding school, fancy but not royalty.

"So… you're the transfer student, hmph you look like an escaped convict that plans to murder everyone."

"You know what they say 'looks can deceive you', also we just met for the first time and already I sense animosity between us, don't you agree, Madame Headmistress."

"Who said you can talk Mr. Okonogi, I'll be straight with you, I despise you and all men and I wish you lose your scholarship at Vincennes at the end of this quarter."

 _It's actually surprising that this is that this woman is that girl Ritsuko's mother plus she has another daughter; more so I'm surprised someone fucked her once._

"Tsk… you two don't belong here first for being outsiders and second for inciting violence at the pristine Vincennes."

"I can say the same thing for you as you somehow the principal of this school, a position that quite frankly you don't deserve one fucking bit."

"You insolent boy, how dare you speak to me like that, you should show some respect to your superiors."

"Mrs. Kitamikado, you are the last person I'd call a superior, in fact I see you and this calling as a nuisance and a waste of my time."

As me and the Headmistress argued back and forth I couldn't help but look back at Chiho and awkward this must be for her.

 **Chiho's POV**

I watched in surprise as the once respectful and passive boy talk down on the headmistress, this me want to know even more; what the hell happened to Masaya during our time apart, he's acting differently. He would never talk back to a teacher and disrespect them; second he was so nice and kind to everyone, now he's a cold, sarcastic jackass to the headmistress anyways.

"Ms. Sagisawa, what did this man do to you to deserve a slap?"

"Um….he…"

"Tsk… this is why we shouldn't accept final course tourist."

Every time a student or a teacher called me that I couldn't help but get upset but now that the principal is doing it I can't help but feel infuriated.

"Will you shut your bloody mouth, you preach that I'm not a proper student, but I can tell you one thing you cheeky bitch; you're not proper principal. No principal should make a student feel like they're useless or a different breed of the human race. Honestly just the sight of you makes me sick to my stomach."

"S-Shut up you rat!"

As Masaya finished his statements about the headmistress she yelled at him in a rather shaky voice.

"Hmph… I think I've made my point."

"Get out of my office… now."

"We did as she asked and left her office, outside Masaya approached me."

"Hey look, I'm sorry things got out of hand, are you alright, she was pretty harsh with you."

"I'll be fine, besides you said some harsh things to her too."

"Yeah but, as you see I'm not the same person you knew."

"Yeah, the real Masaya would not murder my heart."

"So that's what you mean by I'm a murderer."

"Maybe or maybe not, see you later Mr. Okonogi."

 **Masaya's POV**

After Chiho said goodbye she walked away and disappeared into the crowd of students heading for the cafeteria. I decided to meet up with Rise and Ruriko to discuss my current standing.

"So Masaya, how did it go with the headmistress?"

"Well… things could have gone better, but hey I'm not dead aren't I."

"I'm glad, your right things could have been worse. Anyways I'm happy to tell you that Ruriko will be joining us as an affiliate."

"That's good though I wish Chiho will open up and forget the past."

"Hmm… that's a good question; what happened in ''the past'' and how do you know each other.

Rise wasn't even being subtle with her tone of annoyance.

"Fine… Tamie can you stop hiding under that table."

"Waugh… How did you manage to spot me?"

"You don't exactly have the best camouflage."

"Okay, I think the reason Chiho hates me is because is because after graduation from my old school Eitatsu Auxiliary she told me to meet her at our favorite cherry tree but my bastard father has fucked up his debt so much we had to flee Tsurugigoaka leaving Chiho and my other friends behind."

"So that's why she slapped you and called you a traitor."

"Again it's only a speculation but I think it's true, If only I can talk to her about it without her running away."

"I have an idea!"

"What do you have in mind Ruriko."

"Rise, didn't you say that Masaya gallantly saved you from gangsters, I was thinking we have Masaya do that again but with Chiho."

"We are not doing that!"

"Aw…why not Masaya."

"I don't think you noticed Ruriko but gangsters are dangerous and unpredictable, they will not hesitate to use any means necessary to get their way, besides I vowed that I would never put Chiho in harm's way… that's part of the reason I left her behind without letting her know."

"Hold on Masaya, if we can get you two out of the school you can mend you wound with Chiho and get us another member to help us win this election. Plus you effortlessly beat that goon last time I should be easy to you."

"I-*sigh* let me think about it ok."

"Of course take as much time as you need."

After our conversation at lunch me and Rise went to English, in our English class, I thought about the idea Ruriko proposed, at the end of class I told Rise my decision.

"Ok Rise, I'll do it but on one condition we have a backup protector in case of emergency."

"Great, I'll tell Ruriko; we need to strike while the iron is hot so we're looking at tomorrow evening"

Roger that, it should get me time to find a bodyguard-

"That's not necessary; Ruriko already has one of her best bodyguard assigned for the plan."

"Ok then, if that's the case then we're ready for tomorrow."

After making the final arrangements all we had to do was wait until tomorrow evening to execute what Rise called Operation: Rekindle Friendship.

 **April 17, 2011**

 **2050hrs, 10 minutes till Operation: Rekindle Friendship.**

*ring*

"Hmm… Colonel Yanase *beep*, hello?"

"Sergeant, we have a mission for you."

"What is it?"

"Our reconnaissance aircraft took photos of what appears to be a research lab under the command of Sakamoto."

"Where is this lab located? Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Tsurugigoaka?"

"None of the above, Sergeant the lab is located in Myanmar."

"Why would Sakamoto operate from Myanmar?"

"That is currently unknown, and that's precisely your next mission; to find out why he has a lab for research, briefing will be at 0500 and you and your team will be deployed by helicopter from the IJN _Hiryu_ , mission will commense at 2000 tomorrow, be sure to get your ass in gear by then Sergeant, If you succeed you'll be one more step to 2nd Lieutenant."

"Roger that sir, I'll be at the _Hiryu_ by 0500."

"Very good, be sure to keep this mission from you classmates at Vincennes, this is considered a black op and should remain classified."

"Sir, yes sir."

After being notified of my mission, I ran to the gate to see Ruriko leading Chiho to the gate unknown to her about our plan. To not give away my position I activated my clocking feature and leaped over the wall and waited at the side of the road.

 **Chiho's POV**

"Hey Ruriko, where are you taking me?"

"Nowhere special, just a walk around the schoolgrounds."

I couldn't be sure what exactly Ruriko was planning but I can't help but be a little suspicious especially since Ruriko gotten pretty chummy with Masaya and Rise.

"Wha- Ruriko why is the gate opening?"

"It's because you need to make amends with a certain man."

"Ruriko what are you doing-Ahh!"

Before I can continue asking questions Ruriko pushed me outside the gate and closed it.

"Ruriko! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Don't be gone for too long."

"Oh… this is bad, why would Ruriko do this."

Just as I was about to cry Masaya appeared seemingly out of thin air and approached me.

 **Masaya's POV**

"Listen Chiho, don't be scared I'm here."

"That doesn't comfort me, it scares me more."

*sigh*See that big lad over there, he's a bodyguard Ruriko hired to protect us, we shouldn't face any problems. Now then care to chat, like old times."

"It's not that I'm scared I'll die, I'm scared you'll kill someone; you didn't hesitate when you said all those things to the Headmistress so who says you won't hesitate to kill someone who looks at you the wrong way, I- Wha- What happened to you, why are you so frightening."

"Chiho, you don't need to worry about me, I'm the same Masaya you knew before I went away."

"If you're the same Masaya, why do you have all those scars and that pistol and what's with the glove over your left hand."

"I'm not comfortable with explaining that, please change the subject."

"No, Masaya I need to know; why are you such a giant asshole now."

"FINE! You want know why, because for as long as I can remember my life been a miserable hell! Not a bloody day goes by where I think what if this happened or is it even worth living anymore; you want to know why I didn't kill myself long ago! Because of you, you help me through thick and thin, you made my life seem more meaningful then what I thought. Look… sorry for my sudden outburst I-I couldn't help it, It's just I never meant for you to feel angry or sad, your my childhood friend, hell you're more like a sister to me, I sorry; I'm so sorry!"

Before I knew it I was crying the hardest I cried since my mother left me, all these emotions I thought I lose after the incident, came flooding back.

"Please Chiho, please forgive me, I've been a terrible friend, I never wanted this to happen…"

"…Masaya, I-I forgive you… You may not be the Masaya I knew when I was a kid, but you're still my Masaya dammit! I sorry I slapped you and yelled at you, I was just so angry at myself you were the person I decided to put my anger on, can you forgive me."

"I-I forgive you Chiho, just one thing promise you won't run away when I show you this but the reason I wear this glove is because…"

I took off the glove to show Chiho my arm, the moonlight reflecting off the metal arm.

"Masaya… your arm is… not real."

"The reason my arm is like this is not a pretty story so I won't force you to hear it."

"I don't want to hear it I just want to go back to the dorm; I tired of all this drama for today"

*chuckle* "Classic Chiho, always not one for drama, very well let's head back as friends, no as siblings."

We walked back towards the gate where Rise and Ruriko were waiting, they opened the gate and we walked back to dorms.

"Hey Rise, you know what, I join the White Lily, I want Masaya to stay here so we'll never be separated again."

"That's good to hear to hear; alright, now we stand a chance against the Red Rose."

"If you'll excuse me ladies but I need to go back to my dorm, goodnight guys."

I went back to my room to prepare for the mission. After putting on the last of my armor and loading my pistol with adequate amounts of ammunition it was already almost midnight. I snuck out of Vincennes and had a helicopter pick me up to take me to the Yokosuka Naval Base.

 _It feels weird coming back here after such a short time_

The helicopter dropped me off on the deck of the carrier where Colonel Yanase was there to greet me.

"Welcome abroad, Sergeant Okonogi."

"Colonel, where do I report to?"

"Your team is already in the briefing room, follow me and I'll begin the briefing."

I followed Colonel Yanase to the briefing room where I met my team for the mission.

"Sergeant Okonogi, meet Sergeants Kaido, Haruzuko, and Yamato."

"A pleasure to meet you all."

"Hey look an Okonogi, your family has quite the name in the military."

"I know, apparently my grandfather and **Uncle** were Imperial Commandos before me."

"Enough with the chit-chat boys, we need to get busy."

Yanase showed us a mugshot of Sakamoto, just the sight of this man made me sick.

"Look at this cocksucker, ''General'' Suzukaze Sakamoto codenamed Odysseus, this scum has run a drug cartel, human trafficking ring, and arms dealing ring for almost 20 years and now he's trying to create tensions between us and the United States; now I was on the crown prince and he was furious that our American ambassador is doing nothing but berate the government for doing this apparent things that Sakamoto claims we do. Sergeants your mission is to investigate the laboratory and find any future plans Sakamoto has, am I clear."

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good luck Commandos!"

After the briefing we took off on a Huey to Myanmar, this began the ''war'' against Suzukaze Sakamoto.

 **That does it for Chapter 3 of this story. Masaya and Chiho rekindled their friendship after an emotional talk and Masaya has begun his fight against Sakamoto unknowingly fulfilling what the masked man fortold when Masaya was a young child. Be sure to stay tune for Chapter 4: The Brewing Storm.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Brewing Storm

Chapter 4- The Brewing Storm

 **Masaya's POV**

 **April 18** **th** **, 2011**

 **Near Yangon, Myanmar**

 **1630hrs**

After a lengthy helicopter ride we finally arrived at the former capital of Myanmar, Yangon. This was my first overseas assignment and I was instantly impressed by the rich history and culture that the city had to offer, the city was in the middle of 'rush hour' and the streets were filled with people going from one place to the next, there were antique buildings most likely from Myanmar's time as a British colony back in the 19th to 20th centuries, of course one of its biggest wonders was the Shwedagon Pagoda, this 325ft tall pagoda is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in all of Myanmar and for good reason; the giant of a building held god knows how many relics from ancient times and just important relics from the Buddhist faith.

"Hey Okonogi, you eyeing something or you just spacing out."

"Oh, um I'm just admiring the beauty the city has to offer, this is my first time away from Japan, it feels like I've left earth and gone to a another planet."

I wasn't lying when I said that, the difference between Tsurugigoaka and Yangon were day and night, this made me more determined to stop Sakamoto and his ambitions for war between the U.S and Japan. We got off the helicopter and preceded to the streets of the city, I came to the realization that Myanmar is a third world country and had a high poverty rate especially in the cities, thinking back on my own past I couldn't help but empathize with the misfortunate.

"All right Okonogi, what's the game plan." Sergeant Kaido seems to be a brash commando itching for a chance to personally kick Sakamoto's sorry arse, I noticed that Sergeants Haruzuko and Yamato were quieter and were rarely interacting with Kaido and me.

"Right, this is where the lab is located." I showed them a hologram of the mountains of Myanmar, "Haruzuko, Yamato; you will be positioned on this cliffside while me and Sergeant Kaido survey the area, you will wait until I give the signal, am I clear."

"Yes, Sergeant!"

"Great, until we depart into the mountains feel free to explore the city, but don't get too comfy as remember men, we are on a mission and we need to-. When I was about to finish my sentence a stray bullet flew right by my face.

"Look what I found, some Japanese pigs. Boys you know what to do, send these pigs to the slaughter house."

"Tsk… anti-Japanese extremists, these fuckers get more aggravating as time passes by, Sergeant Okonogi we have no choice but to fight."

"Very well, Haruzuko! Yamato! Defensive positions, were going to have to cancel any tourism around the city for now." This was just brilliant, here I was going to maybe find someone to help me with my certain 'disabilities' to now we have to fight anti-Japanese extremist because we stepped foot into the wrong territory

"Time to die you Imperial pigs."

Soon a large number of anti-Japanese extremist started to appear from roofs of buildings to nearby alleyways, the odds seem in their favor but these fools forgot not only are they dealing with Imperial Commando but a cybernetic enhanced super soldier. I used my smart vision to scan about 30 plus enemy combatants all carrying either Chinese Type 95 assault rifles or American M1A1 Thompson submachine guns. "heh… this should be easy." I used my clocking feature and flanked the enemy from behind, as I was about to fire my M4A1 SOPMOD assault rifle I realized that we're in a heavily civilian populated area. "Hmph… this will be challenging, dealing with this threat by using non-lethal tactics. Wait, I have a idea."

I came up with an idea that if I scared the attackers with my cybernetics they'll run away. As I thought about the plan something flew right pass me, the quick glance I got of it appeared to be human.

"Who is this guy? Hey mask man go back to Europe, you look like a one of those medieval freaks. You know what, you look rather wealthy. Boys ignore the pigs let's rob this fool of his money-Gah!"

It was the masked man, the same masked man that came up to me after my mother left, he punched the leader in the stomach so hard he vomited blood and stomach acid. My question was how did he follow us from Japan to Myanmar and how is he so fast, no human can be so fast without cybernetic enhancements.

"Whoa, when did Okonogi have time to change? Also Haruzuko remember me not to piss Okonogi off ever."

"Agreed Kaido, I know the Okonogi bloodline is strong but this is unhuman, who is this guy."

Right as the gang was about to open fire on the masked man he yelled something, next thing I knew I couldn't move and everything seemed to freeze

"Time stop!"

?'s POV

After yelling out those words, time stopped and everything and everyone around me froze including Masaya. "As expected, he hasn't learned that he can stop time, along with many other supernatural abilities, now on to more pressing matters." I placed concussion grenades around the gang members but not to where they can stun Masaya or his squad.

When I resume time the grenades will go off and stun Masaya's attackers.

"Time resume!"

Masaya's POV

As if my mind went blank I almost didn't register the brick wall and clung to it with my mag gloves

 _Shit, that was close; it's as if time stopped before my very eyes._

*bang* "Ugh… what the hell? Was that a stun grenades, I can't even fire my gun. Heh, why is everything going black…?"

Just then there were numerous small explosions around the gang members and they all slipped into an unconscious state.

"Woah, did you see that, out of nowhere Sergeant Okonogi placed all these grenades to knock them out. Hey Okonogi where did you get those-"

"Uh… Kaido, Sergeant Okonogi is up there, he's hanging on a building."

"What? Wait then who's this guy, why does he look like Okonogi?"

"Yare yare daze…"

"Yare yare daze… Wait hold on that's what I always say, who exactly are you?"

"It's been a long time hasn't it… young Masaya"

My suspicions were correct, this is the masked man from all those years ago but how hasn't he aged in the years since I meet him. When I was 10 he appeared to be in his early to mid-twenties now seven years later, he hasn't shown any sign of aging; it's as if he's frozen in time, unable to age.

"Who are you and what do you want with me? Answer me or I'll use force!"

"My name is Takashi, that is all you need to know. I come here with advice that will help you greatly on your mission. Sakamoto is not here so don't bother looking for him, after his injuries he received in Angola he fled to his wife's home country of Nicaragua where he owns a grand estate from his wealth as a drug dealer in the country and abroad. After your mission in Myanmar your colonel will tell you that four American SAD/SOG operatives were involved in the battle between the Afghan Army and the Chinese Army."

"Chinese? I thought the Germans were trying to invade Afghanistan, how did the Chinese get involved?"

"After months of fighting with little to no outcome, the Germans have signed a ceasefire with Afghanistan. With Germany out of the picture the Chinese took it upon themselves to invade Afghanistan, they also plan on invading India, Iran even Russia."

"Hold on, the Chinese plan to invade Russia, heh… those glory seeking fools. Don't they know that both times a large army planned to invade Russia they both failed, Napoleon tried in the 1800's he failed, Hitler tried in the 1940's he also failed. This is going to be the same outcome no matter what the Chinese do differently. Also it is said no one, not even the Soviets could even be close to conquering Afghanistan in over a thousand years, it's practically impossible."

"That's where you are wrong young Masaya, the Chinese will succeed, I have foreseen it. If the Chinese manage to conquer India, Iran, and Afghanistan along with support from Sakamoto's Liberation Army, they will have enough resources and manpower to capture Moscow within months. They will convince the United States and Great Britain to join them and will become the world's largest and most powerful military coalition in the history of mankind."

"Bloody hell… is this all because of Sakamoto and his delusions of anarchy?"

"These are dark times Masaya, I warned you that your body and mind will be tested. A storm is brewing and it's only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose. Now in order to stop that from happening you must defeat Sakamoto and the Chinese, convince the U.S that allying with Japan will be a benefit, you must also ally with Britain and drive the Germans out of France and the rest of Europe and stop the war in Europe before more lives are needlessly taken to the violence and destruction that will consume the earth. Now go and remember that you are one with the dragon and the dragon is within you. Until we meet again Masaya this is farewell."

After telling me all this knowledge he almost seem to disappeared into thin air, my head was filled with questions like "What's my purpose?" or "What the hell you mean by I'm one with the dragon and the dragon is within me?" But I can't put too much thought into it as I'm on mission, I however can't seem to get over how Takashi managed to placed concussion grenades around the gangsters.

"Well that was weird, that dude probably got serious issues, I mean what the hell was he blabbing about this big catastrophic war that will consume the world."

"Sergeant Kaido, shut it will you. What if Takashi was telling the truth, he seems to know more about this world than most, he even managed to place grenades in precise spots completely undetected." That was true no one, even myself saw Takashi even go near the gangsters before stepping in front of them, he seemed to move with lightning speed and he possessed pinpoint accuracy when it came to the grenades locations.

"Hmph, we'll talk about this later we need to get moving, the more time we waste is more time for Sakamoto to plan this approaching war." I told my team that time was of the essence, so we left Yangon and began to scale the tallest mountain in Myanmar, Hkakabo Razi.

"Okay, this is where we split up. Sergeant Haruzuko take Sergeant Yamato and proceed to the rendezvous point while myself and Sergeant Kaido climb this peak and survey the target area, am I clear."

"Yes Sergeant."

 **Rise's POV**

 **April 18th, 2011**

 **Vincennes Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **0830hrs**

As me and the other girls gathered around the lunch table but I couldn't help but wonder where Masaya is, when I went to check on him he's door closed and he didn't respond to my calls, curiosity had me decide to pick the lock to his door to find Masaya nowhere to be found, his suitcase was opened but nothing was in it, the only trace that Masaya was here was his button shirts laying on his bed. What had me the most curious was the hole in the wall and when I went to his bathroom the glass mirror was completely smashed with what appeared to be blood on the broken shards of glass and on the sink. Inside his closet was nothing but a bunch of pictures thumbtacked onto the wall with pieces of tape with names on them. Suzukaze Sakamoto, General Ryosuke Okonogi, Shinya Okonogi, Captain Yuuji Okonogi, Prince Ichigo, Colonel Ryuto Yanase. Those were only some of the names, there were also many with big red x's over them with arrows connecting them to this Sakamoto person.

 _Who are these people, the only person that I know is Shinya Okonogi, Masaya's father, but other than that no one on the wall I know. Sakamoto looked scary while Ryosuke looked like a dignified Imperial Army officer; the one that intrigued me the most was this Yuuji Okonogi who didn't have a picture of himself only a blank silhouette with a question mark on it._

"Hey Rise where's Masaya, he's usually here by now?"

"I don't know, after last night he just disappeared without a trace, I found his phone that the staff gave him on his bed and his suitcase opened."

"Wow, what was in the suitcase? What other things did you find in his room?"

"Well to start his room was mostly intact say for a hole in his wall and his bathroom mirror shattered, I also found some bullets randomly scattered on the floor, also his closet was filled with pictures of people I don't even know. Hey Chiho, did Masaya ever tell you who Suzukaze Sakamoto or Captain Yuuji Okonogi are?"

"Suzukaze Sakamoto! My dad once told me that he and that Captain Yuuji Okonogi along with the crown prince raided his father's drug ring in Osaka, but Masaya never knew about it when we were little, his father was an asshole to him and his mother seemed to avoid anything involving the military or law enforcement."

"Why would Masaya be interested in a drug lord?"

"Maybe he's a spy for this Sakamoto guy; it's obvious he's not normal so it wouldn't surprise me if he eventually sells our souls to his master."

"Ah… Mitsuki, what brings you here?"

"I was just walking to get my food when I heard you were talking about the Tentateur Serpent."

"When did Masaya get a title, especially one meaning "seductive serpent"?

"It's something us Red Rose society members came up with, it befits him as he may be extremely handsome but also a sexual predator."

"*sigh* I think he's a dreamy Englishman with a dark past just waiting for a fair maiden to bring him to the light."

"Yeah, lay off the Shojo romance manga Ruriko, okay."

"Well whatever, Masaya's not even here so why should I even bother with trying to insult him. Excuse me but I'll be going now, goodbye Rise."

"Tsk… she thinks she can act all high and mighty because of her closeness to Marika."

I let that thought slip, though it was true Mitsuki was as Masaya put it "a bloody blue blood" but she wasn't like this when we were younger, it wasn't until she became Chef De Corp.

"Well whatever, don't worry about her. Hey Ruriko what was with your little fantasy about Masaya? Honestly you sounded a little weird when you went on how much of a "dreamy Englishman" he is."

"You have to admit it is true. Rise, Chiho I hope you feel the same way about Masaya."

"N-No I don't have feelings for Masaya, not at all!"

"S-Same here, we may have been the best of friends' b-but I never had intimate feelings for Masaya!"

Me and Chiho couldn't help but blush at Ruriko's statement, though I deny it I can't help but have strong feelings for Masaya, he was just so dreamy and handsome, in fact during our dinner together I noticed every woman old or young go head over heels for Masaya as he did even the slightest of movement.

"*giggle* You may deny it now but soon every girl will do anything to have Masaya as their boyfriend."

"S-Shut up! No girl would want a guy like Masaya, all moody and cold.

"I think it's time to start heading to class I'll see you all at lunch, goodbye.

I excused myself from the others though all my thought was on Masaya.

Who exactly is he? I should ask him when I find him; hopefully he'll be strait with me. I can't help but think about the masked man I encountered right before I met Masaya.

"Go north to this alley-way; your destiny awaits you Rise Rousenin."

When I met that man I had this strange feeling like we were connected by blood in some way.

 **Masaya's POV**

 **April 18th, 2011**

 **Hkakabo Razi Mountain, Myanmar**

 **2000hrs**

After discussing the plan Haruzuko and Yamato left for the rendezvous point while I and Kaido began to proceed to the vantage point. I used my mag-gloves while Kaido was attached to me by a rope and using climbing pickaxes to climb up to the point. "Okay this is the vantage point, Kaido you have that pair of smart glasses."

"Yeah, let me guess they have a zoom variation to increase my eyesight."

"Correct, I'm going to connect those glasses to my cybernetic eye so you see what I see." I completed the process of connecting the glasses to my eye and set the zoom to 1,000x. "Alright, Kaido can you see the target area."

"Yeah, hmm… look at that Sakamoto's got a whole private fucking army hidden down the there."

"Hmph… they're from all over the world. Chinese, Japanese, American, Cuban, even North Korean. They all have state-of-the-art technology." I studied the mass of enemy forces guarding any conventional access to the laboratory. I found a perfect infiltration point me and my team can take.

"Hey Okonogi, how many followers does Sakamoto have? About a million people."

"Tsk… try two million, these far-right anti-Japanese wankers will never believe their leader's a terrorist. They think Sakamoto is their savior, the messiah of the 99 as they say."

"Hey that's ironic, people see him as a messiah when his soon to be killer is named Masaya. Anyways they got one hell of a disappointment coming, that's all I can say."

"Right, time to go see what Sakamoto got hidden down there. You ready Kaido!

"Yeah, keep momentum on your swings, I don't want slam into the mountain."

I began to get to a good distance from Kaido to make a precise swing that will propel us to our rendezvous point. I threw a smoke grenade to signal Haruzuko and Yamato to rally at the point.

"Hey Okonogi, the surface's is a little uneasy. Jam hard with the mag-gloves."

I swung to a part of the mountain and prepared to repeat the process of swinging Kaido across and then have him swing me to another section of the mountain. "So far so good, this is the last time. Kaido get ready with that pickaxe!"

With one last swing me and Kaido landed at our rendezvous point. Before we can get ready for the next step a sudden bolt of lightning hit a nearby tree, the falling tree caught our rope and began to pull me and Kaido down with the tree.

"Aw fuck… this isn't good, Masaya what do we do?!"

Before I could say anything Haruzuko and Yamato appeared and helped get us out of our situation.

"Sergeant, cut the rope!"

I did as Haruzuko said and cut the rope with my tactical knife, it was a close call as me and my whole team almost fell off the cliffside.

"Sergeant Okonogi, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm grateful for your help."

"Same here, the rest of this mission should be a walk in the park."

"Be careful Sergeant Kaido, do not underestimate Suzukaze Sakamoto."

"Well his followers sure did. What the hell is it that two million people see in him?"

"As evil as he is he is a very charismatic person and can turn even the most docile civilian into a cold-blooded killer." It was true, Sakamoto had a charisma I've only seen fictional characters like Dio Brando from Jojo's Bizarre Adventures and other antagonists from shonen manga.

"Ok, the next step is to infiltrate the laboratory. Our armor has been modified to have a built in artificial wings, what we're going to do is activate them and fly to the infiltration point. Any questions?"

"No Sergeant!"

"Alright, Yamato you're first."

Yamato activated his wings and jumped off the cliff Haruzuko and Kaido following after, and then I jumped down and activated my wings and began to fly to the the objective.

"Hey guys let's take that gap into the mountain."

"Right, everyone get ready to deploy your parachutes."

We reached the infiltration point and deployed our parachutes, once we landed on the ground we got our M4A1's and split up to sneak into the lab.

"Haruzuko, Yamato; you two flank left. Kaido with me we're going to flank right."

"Roger, ready on your go Sergeant Okonogi."

We crawled under a walkway and surveyed from up close. "Command, this is Sergeant Kaido. Enemy is prepared to leave location, advise."

"We need firm intel on their capabilities. You're clear to engage, lethal force is authorized."

"Hey Sarge, you see that."

"Hmm… looks like optic camouflage, that wanker must be part of some Special Operations division."

"What do we do Sarge?"

"Let's see… alright here's the plan. I'll toss a EMP grenade, after his cloak is shutoff we surprise them and open fire on them."

I tossed the grenade and quickly but quietly backed away to not accidently shutoff my cybernetics. When the grenade went off I ordered my squad to engage the enemy. As we advanced the enemy set up defensive MG positions to stop us, then Haruzuko told me

"Sarge, they're some enemy soldiers to the left!"

"Hmph… Haruzuko! On me, we're going to flank left and take out their reinforcements before they kill Kaido and Yamato!"

"Yes, Sergeant!"

Haruzuko and I split off from Kaido and Yamato to deal with flanking enemy soldiers. Killing all the enemy soldiers before I hacked into the elevator and we ambushed the soldiers that were pinning Kaido and Yamato and destroyed the MG positions.

"Thanks for the help guys, you two saved our asses."

"Still think this a walk in the park Kaido?"

"After that shit, nah man this is going to be a long night."

"We still got enemies to kill, Kaido take out that helicopter, we don't want that bastard airborne!"

"Roger that!"

Kaido grabbed an enemy RPG and destroyed the helicopter before it can take off. While he did that I found a deactivated sentry turret, I hacked into it and controlled it, killing the enemy soldiers within its range.

"Thanks for that Sarge, Shit enemy sniper!"

Yamato spotted a sniper, he fired a round barely missing me, as he was pulling the bolt on his rifle I ran to his position and killed him with my M1911

"Damn Sarge, you don't fuck around do you… Sarge is everything alright?"

As I killed the sniper I had a flashback to the incident. I was firing the .50 cal from the bridge of the ship when a Chinese sniper shot me in my right arm. Coming back to reality in a small fit of rage I unloaded a full magazine of my M4 at the corpse of the sniper.

"Hey Sarge, I think he's dead plus we got to move up we've got the enemy on the run."

"Right, sorry men I just blanked out for a little bit."

We advanced further into the abandoned sanctuary where the enemy had set up sentry guns and more infantry, with skill and some luck we managed to rout the enemy when we came to a reinforced door.

"There has to be more to this facility underground. Eveyone stand back." I aimed my M4 at the door using my M203 grenade launcher and blew open the door with a HE round.

"Everyone watch your step, the flood waters may have weakened the structure."

We proceeded down the steps of the structure and came face to face with a electronic door.

"Holy shit, look at this."

"What we saw was just the above-ground sentry."

"The walls are several meters thick; we'll lose comms once inside."

"Kaido, update Yanase tell him to we're moving in."

"Roger that, Command this is Sergeant Kaido, confirming that there's a lab beneath the temple requesting a clean-up and containment team to our location, be advised we will lose comms as soon as we make our entry."

"Command confirms, strike teams are on your way, stand by for ETA."

After confirming the location of the hidden laboratory I hacked the doors lock and we infiltrated the lab.

"There's an ammo crate, everyone load up on ammo. We're going to need every bullet."

"Yes Sergeant."

We loaded up on ammo and were walking into the seemingly abandoned lab when suddenly explosions went off and enemy forces came out.

"Son of a bitch, there's more."

"Stand your ground men; we need to find intel on Sakamoto!"

We fought off our ambushers and pushed our way through the labs when we came across a room filled with cutting edge military technology many of which were still in the experimental phase in countries like Russia, Germany, China, and of course Japan and the U.S.

"Look at this shit, weapon componets, state of the art U.S Marine Commando armor, Sakamoto's arming himself for war."

"Remember what Takashi said, after the Chinese conquer India, Iran, and Afghanistan. Sakamoto will provide the manpower required to help the Chinese invade Russia."

*thud*

We heard a sudden thud as if a door was quickly closed, instinctively we scanned the room for anything suspicious.

"*whisper*someone's still in here. Hey Oak use your super-soldier shit to detect the noise."

"Oak? Whatever, that's not a bad idea Kaido."

I used my smart-vision to scan through the walls to find a lone body; the yellow silhouette didn't appear to be an enemy soldier and was rolled up into the "Fetal Position".

"We got a civilian, could be a hostage. Squad on me!"

We went to where the silhouette was to find that he was hiding inside a storage crate, I hacked the door open and the man pleaded for his life in English.

"Please don't hurt me!"

"Shit, he's not Japanese. I can't tell what this guy's saying. Hey Oak your British, you speak English right?"

"Yes, my mother taught me English when I was a child. Don't worry I got this."

I began to talk to the man in English, he was rather surprised that an Imperial Japanese Commando was speaking to him in fluent English with a British accent. But eventually he told me what I wanted.

"My name is Eric Davidson; I'm a scientist who is experienced with advanced technology. Hey, those look like the cybernetic augmentations that I help Mr. Goldman create; you must be Mr. Andrew Wellington. How are Kyle, Xander, and Ahsoka doing, it must be hard being cybernetically enhanced super soldiers."

 _Andrew Wellington? Could that be my cousin that my mother said I had? But who are Kyle, Ahsoka, and Xander? From what this man is saying they've gone through the same cybernetic augmentations. But I can't worry about that I must complete this damned mission._

"This isn't about me or my cybernetics, my question is what the bloody hell does Sakamoto want with an ex- Goldman Industries employee."

"They kidnapped my and brought me to this lab to produce a cyber-virus that would render all advanced warfare tech unusable."

*Explosions*

"Oh shit, please get me out of here alive, I'll tell you everything."

"Get the fuck down. Get down!"

"Sergeant, more SLA are coming our way."

"Everyone defensive positions, put down some cover. We need to repel the enemy until we can get our intel." Soon wave after wave of SLA forces came pouring in. After repelling most of the enemy forces Haruzuko came up with a brilliant idea.

"Masaya, shoot the canisters of liquid nitrogen!"

"What?" At first I didn't know what Haruzuko was thinking but after scanning the area the canisters will freeze the enemy but will not be close to us to freeze us too. "Ah… I get it, great thinking Haruzuko." I shot a HE grenade at the canisters and a massive cloud of liquid nitrogen filled the room, I quickly ordered my men inside the room where Mr. Davidson was.

"Alright now what intel do you have on Sakamoto."

"Right, follow me Mr. Wellington."

"Uh… Doc, who the hell is Mr. Wellington, this is Sergeant Masaya Okonogi of the 1st Imperial Commando Regiment."

"Oh… my apologies Sergeant Okonogi, you remind me awfully a lot like Andrew Wellington, he's one of our clients, a suave flirt from London."

"…Yare yare daze… Whatever, can you just give me the bloody intel."

"Sorry, I just need to open this door."

Mr. Davidson opened the door, it lead to a small room with lots of small computers around the perimeter of the room, in the center of this room was a weird device surrounded by glass. Mr. Davidson grabbed it and presented it to me.

"Quantum Mechanics, this single device has more processing power than both America and Japan's military infrastructures combined." I took the strange device from him and looked deeply into it when he gave me more intel. "Rumor has it that Sakamoto plans to uses a virus to conduct a massive cyber-attack using something called Sabre. If Sakamoto uses Sabre against your military there will be nothing, anything you can do to stop it… I couldn't stop it… but yo-*gunshot**gag*"

Before I could react a bullet pierced Mr. Davidson through the neck, blood spluting out onto me. In his dying breath I could only watch in shock as he slowly fell onto the floor lifelessly. I saw the soldier that killed Mr. Davidson and brutally stabbed him in the throat.

"Son of a bitch… that was cold, you honestly scare the shit out of me Oak."

"Shut it Kaido! We still have hostiles in the area, be on your guard!"

"Sarge, we got more!"

"Push through them, kill them all if you have to!"

We fought our way through the way we came eventually going back to the entrance of the lab when I heard a familiar voice.

"Sergeant Okonogi! Your team can stand down!"

"Heh… It's Yanase! Everyone stand down it's the extraction team. I ordered my team to stand down. Haruzuko and Yamato taking a breather while me and Kaido walked up to Colonel Yanase."

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"Heh… well I guess we can call this mission accomplished."

"Yanase, it's good to see you."

"Likewise Masaya."

"Whatever Sakamoto's planning, this is the key to it." I handed the device to Yanase, after studying it he muttered some words.

"Yeah, we got one against that cocksucker…"

"He's just a man Colonel. He'll like to think he's something more, but he's just a sad, old, pitiful excuse of a man."

"Right you are Sergeant Kaido. Now time to return to the Hiryu, you need a well-deserved rest."

We recovered Mr. Davidson's body and left Myanmar aboard a V-22 Osprey, on the way back I asked Haruzuko some questions.

"Haruzuko you were born in Osaka during the Sakamoto Cartel's reign. You know he's legend better than anyone, please tell me. Why does he hate the government so much."

"Hmm… it was in the 1960's as a boy he saw the mafia rape and murder his neighbors. Later in 1972 there was a destructive earthquake in Osaka, his family lost everything. After that Suzukaze and his father started selling drugs internationally for the mafia for easy money, they became rich and powerful legends of the Osaka underground. However his future wife Josefina was crippled in a fire in Nicaragua. In retaliation he murdered his father-in-law to assume his drug cartel in Central in 1993 Sakamoto's father was killed in the Commando raid led by the legendary Captain Yuuji Okonogi. This permanently cemented Sakamoto hatred for not only the imperial government but also the Okonogi bloodline, it was said he vowed to kill Captain Okonogi and his family no matter what."

I couldn't help but feel uneasy, the fact that this Yuuji Okonogi was a legend in the Imperial Army and how he also happens to be my uncle.

 **Yanase's POV**

I heard the entirety of Sergeant Haruzuko's story about Sakamoto and I couldn't help but feel guily, not at Sakamoto but for having to keep the secret from Masaya that Yuuji is not his uncle but in fact his biological father.

 _One day he'll have to know the truth whether myself, Ichigo, Elizabeth, or even fucking Sakamoto or that bastard Shinya tell him._

 **Author's Notes**

 **With that I conclude Chapter 4 of this story and jeez, this one was a pain in the ass to write. This chapter was almost 2x as long as the other chapters, aside from that we finally saw Masaya in action as an Imperial Commando and wow he's can be brutal to his enemies. Stay tuned for Chapter 5 which will start with a short sidestory of Ahsoka and her team in Afghanistan then will swich back to Masaya and the White Lily society members prepare for Vincennes' May Festival all while Masaya tries to hide his true identity from the girls who are starting to get curious. Until then please leave reviews and comments, I'm open to any constructive criticism- Shepherds12**


	6. Chapter 5: The May Festival

Chapter 5- The May Festival

 **April 18** **th** **, 2011**

 **Khost Province, Afghanistan**

 **1345hrs**

 **Ahsoka's POV**

I was standing were what seemed to be an ancient Islamic structure, the history and culture of the Middle East always fascinating me since when I was a little girl. My mother was a Marine who earned the Medal of Honor fighting in the Gulf War of 1991 and my father is an historian who specializes in world history, it was no surprise that my sister and me were selected to become SPARTANS when the project launched 4 years ago.

 _Sally… If only you were hear._

"It's showtime Ahsoka!"

Kyle and Andrew were on a hill next to me scouting the area, our mission was to meet up with a Japanese commando who would take us to the main frontline HQ of the Afghan Army. The deal was that we covertly supply, help, and train the soldiers to combat the Chinese who have been wanting to conquer West Asia in response to the Japanese Empire trying to take all of East Asia. The Chinese are planning to take Afghanistan in order to get to Iran and Iraq, then with those additional resources move on to India and Pakistan, then they'll finally take Russia, also known as the Soviet Empire, a unified Soviet state that formed after the collapse of the old U.S.S.R and the quick fall of the Russian Federation, which was doomed to fail from the start. In exchange for our help, the Afghans will tell us everything they know about Suzukaze Sakamoto, the Japanese man I encountered while rescuing Kyle back in Angola. According to the CIA, Sakamoto is getting supplies and funds from the Chinese to distract the Japanese while they conquer West Asia.

"What did you see up there Kyle?"

"*chuckle* Sand, sand, and more fucking sand. Xander's contact is on his way."

"You think we can trust the Japanese?"

"We can here, there supporting the Afghans, same as us. You know if the Chinese win in Afghanistan, they'll be looking at India next."

"No one likes the Chinese, huh."

"Yeah well, no one likes the Russians or Japanese either, but they're the lesser evils right now."

"Hey mates, you might want to keep you head down."

I turned and saw men on horses with our Japanese informant leading the charge.

"Take it easy Mekata! We've delivered the weapons! Now what about you end of the deal."

"State your name, "Americans."

"My name is Ahsoka Hyodo, designation SPARTAN-2178."

"Kyle Miller, designation SPARTAN-2187."

"Andrew Wellington, designation SPARTAN-2002.

"We're the soldiers that Agent Arland came with."

"Hmph… I will take to commander of this army; they will help you on information concerning Suzukaze Sakamoto. We have fresh horses, you all will follow me."

Our informant was 2nd Lieutenant Seiji Mekata, an Imperial Japanese Commandos. Japan's elite special operations forces unit based off our Navy SEALs and Marine Commandos. Apparently it was formed in 1965 by the Japanese emperor and a General Ryosuke Okonogi to handle missions like sabotage, S&D, counterterrorism, counterdrug, high profile hostage situations, and black ops. You know, the usual shit.

"*radio sound* Ahsoka, it's Xander. Did you make contact with Mekata."

"Yeah, we're on our way to the HQ now."

"Good, now I'm sure I don't need to remind you that our presence here must remain 100% deniable. There will be serious consequences if China learns of our involvement in Afghanistan." Our mission was considered a black op as officially the US has declared neutrality in wars in Europe and Asia so the last thing we needed was to start an international crisis, the world was already in chaos as it is was then. For this mission, we were required to wear local militia clothing, instead of my M4A1 and M1919 Browning .30 cal, I was given an AK-47 and a RPD light machine gun. I still had my sister's M1911 though, it was my lucky charm.

"Only way that's gonna happen is if you yanks screw this up!"

"Yeah that ain't gonna happen, limey-yankee!"

"*giggle* He got you there Andrew!"

Me, Kyle, Xander, and Andrew have been friends for our entire lives. We live and breathe for each other; we all grew up in my hometown of Los Fresnos, Texas, a little town near Brownsville, Texas, on the US-Mexican border. My family is mainly Japanese-American with some Hispanic and British mixed in, the same goes for the rest of the group with Andrew being the exception as he was born in London, his father being British and his mother being a Hispanic-American. Due to his father he is a member of the Wellington family in England, a powerful family with connections to the British crown.

"We need to hurry, I fear the Chinese are preparing to launch an attack our fortifications."

"Mekata's right! Ahsoka! Andrew! Pick it up a gear!"

"Right! Hyaa!"

We sped up to get to the base quicker, I saw several knocked out German Panzer IVs and Afghan soldiers riding on horseback. We dismounted next to a hole in a mountain side. As I got off I overheard some of the men cleaning their AKs

" _Get a load at that woman."_

" _Finally, an American bombshell that isn't designed to kill us"._

" _She's probably got a nice and tight virgin cunt."_

The CIA did everything they could to have me and the guys blend into the local culture as possible. Problem was… I was, to put it simply… well-endowed for my age.

" _My, my Ahsoka! You've become quit the busty lady. Make sure you don't break too many boy's hearts okay."_

" _Hmph… they're only a D-cup, you're just poking fun Sally!"_

I remembered my sister's little tease when I started Freshman year of highschool. It had been almost two years since my sister went missing after a botched rescue mission, our mission was to extract the chief designer for an Imperial German black weapons project, the engineer was Joseph Hyodo, my mother's younger brother and my uncle. He was hired by the German Empire to head a project to help the German people, at least that's what they told him. In reality he was unknowingly building a weapon for the German war machine. We were sent in to get him, but the Germans found out and staged an ambush, they recaptured my uncle and my sister was officially considered MIA but presumed dead after she covered my extraction, they never found her body and soon after, a mysterious German commander named Lord 187 appeared. My family was known for our military history and for being very outspoken and influential in American politics, people even wanted my mother to run as a Democrat for president in the 2008 election, she turned down those offers though. After my sisters disappeared, media outlets that despised the Hyodo name spun a rumor that both my sister and uncle defected to Germany, the rumors got so bad, even the president believed it. To make matters worse, that's when the war in Europe started, and leading the German armies was Lord 187, reports said that he was feared by Polish soldiers for his "demon powers" and his brutality. Those outlets used this Lord 187, saying that my uncle genetically engineered that monster by using my sister's DNA, her so-called 'soldier gene' as a template. This was all just to slander my family name and publicly attack me, my mother, father, and my sister's husband and recently born daughter. Our name was completely tarnished, the government even refused to let us use Arlington as a resting place for Sally, and no one wanted to seek out the truth.

"Ahsoka, you coming or what?"

"Uh… yeah, hold on a sec."

I walked into the cave where I overheard Xander talking with the Afghan general in charge of the base.

"If a Chinese attack is indeed eminent, you're gonna need all the help you can get. I've arranged for a couple of specialists to assist your men. Ah, here they are now. General Assad, meet SAD/SOG operatives Hyodo and Miller, and MI6 operative Wellington. I guarantee you, they are the best soldiers you can ask for."

"Hmph… we need men, not children!"

"Well, this should be just peachy, right mates."

"Yeah…"

"Excuse me General, just so we're clear. We help you fend off a Chinese attack; you give us everything you know about Sakamoto."

"*sigh* our base is here."

I saw the map, their HQ was encircled with passageways that the Chinese can easily exploit.

"General, if I may. You're battle lines are scattered all over the place. The west passage is completely exposed; any large army can punch right through and infiltrate the bases perimeter."

"I know this little girl. My men are especially trained for this kind of warfare; we defeated the 'unbeatable' German Army."

"How sure are you, the way I see it. The Germans got bigger fish to fry; it could be they just gave up. We're talking about the Chinese Army here; they'll come at you with brute, meaning strength in numbers and heavy armor. Are you're men well equipped for these types of situations."

"Heh… Agent Miller's right sir, you're men have no experience with the weaponry we've brought."

"And we do. We belong on the frontlines, not sitting in this cave praying to God for a miracle."

"Why you-"

*muffled explosions*

"The Chinese assault has already begun. Everyone get ready!"

"You really have faith in your plans, Americans?"

"Heh… you're gonna need more than faith, Mekata."

"Let's rock and roll."

"Right! We have to hurry, they're most likely attacking from the west passage, there's an old chockpoint there from when the Germans were here.

"Saddle up mates. Hyaa!"

We got on our horses and rode to the west passage, avoiding mortar shells that were peppering the whole area.

"Shit, we got infantry dropping down from their helicopters!"

"Don't worry Agent Miller, the Afghans will deal with them. We must proceed to the chockpoint!"

We arrived at the chockpoint, I was almost hit by a mortar shell.

"Shit! That was too close.".

"Agent Hyodo, there are enemy Type 92 APCs in the area! We need to proceed on foot!"

We dismounted our horses and met up with the Afghan captain in command of the company defending the point.

"Who are you? Did General Assad send you?"

"Yes, Agent Ahsoka Hyodo, CIA Special Activates Division."

"CIA? Whatever, we've got two Chinese Type 92s ripping my men to shreds. What do we do Agent?"

"Let's see."

I used my tactical eyepiece to activate my SmartVision, I saw the two Type 92s protected by Infantry. _Shit, we weren't given any anti-tank weapons. How the hell are we gonna knock them out? Wait a minute, what's that over there?"_

My SmartVision spotted one of the ruins that the enemy occupied had a crate that had anti-tank mines and a Panzerschreck rocket launcher.

"Kyle! Andrew! Cover me, I'm going to run to that ruin."

"What?! Ahsoka, are you crazy?! Don't you remember what happened in Cuba, your reckless sacrifice got you captured by the Soviets."

"Yeah! And you paid the price for it at Vorkuta! Come on love; don't do anything that can get you killed."

"Look, it's either I get that Panzerschreck, or we all die! Now cover me damnit!"

I ran into the gunfire, killing any Chinese soldiers that were in my way. I got to the ruins and searched for the mines and Panzerschreck. Eventually I found them and ran out and placed a mine down. _I need to get the APCs attention._ I grabbed the Panzerschreck and purposely missed the APC, it turned my way. _That's it. Come at get me._ The APC turned around and chased after me, right into the mine.

*explosion*

Whew… Kyle, the Type 92 is destroyed." _Now time for the other one._

I scanned the area for the APC and spotted it trying to make a break for the entrance.

"I don't think so…" *rocket launched* *explosion*

*radio sound* Nice one, Ahsoka! And you didn't get captured this time."

"Americans, we need to go! The Afghans will handle the remaining infantry."

"Right! Ahsoka, get that cratering charge so we can blow this archway up. We'll make sure no more tanks come through here."

I grabbed the charge and placed it deep in the sand. The charge had enough TNT to level a small building.

"Charge set! Everybody clear out!"

"Do it, Ahsoka…"

*click* *explosion*

"Woo-hoo! Now that was some badarse shit!"

"Ahsoka, this is Xander. We've got threat coming from every corner of the valley. Afghan scouts have reported Chinese tanks approaching from the north. Take care of them."

"Brute force and strength in number. You expected such a fight."

"Doesn't mean I wanted one, Mekata!"

We rode out of the chockpoint to see Chinese tanks moving in on the base.

"Ahsoka, you still got the Panzerschreck?"

"Yeah, I see what you're thinking. Come on let's take em out, Hyaa!"

We flanked the tanks, I had Kyle, Mekata, and Andrew distract the tanks while I got behind them and aimed the rockets at the ammunition racks. _Come on, just a little bit to the right._ Thankfully for my SmartVision, I got a direct hit on the tank, penetrating it and blowing up the tank.

"Nice shot, Ahsoka!"

"Ha… this never gets old."

I shot the other tank, like the other one it blew up into a great ball of fire.

"Ahsoka! We've got Chinese gunships coming in hot. Knock them out the sky, there's a Stinger somewhere in the area."

"Great, now I find that damn Stinger." I rode to the base and searched for the Stinger, finding it in a crate to the right of the bases entrance."

"Nice, you got that Stinger. We need to make it quick, those gunships are tearing up the Afghans into shreds." There were four gunships that were attacking the base. I rode off to take care of the gunships while Kyle, Andrew, and Mekata took care of any remaining tanks with the Panzerschreck.

*Stinger beep* "Come on you son of a bitch."

*rocket launches* *explosion*

"Yes! Right in the soft underbelly!" I took out the gunships with only infantry left, we all regrouped and helped the Afghan troops defend the base.

"Xander, the gunships are down

"Ahsoka, the scouts have reported that the Chinese have captured the weapons cache to the east. Do whatever is necessary to recapture it, General Assad is concerned, he thinks we're losing the battle."

"Hey Xander, tell General Assad I don't give a shit about his concerns! We'll kick ass like we always do!

We rode to the weapons cache to see a Chinese battalion firing down on the Afghans.

"The cache is on an elevated position, we're going to have to dismount our horses." We dismounted our horses and took cover behind a boulder when Kyle spotted something.

"Ahsoka, you see that ladder. We can use it to get a jump on the enemy.

"Good idea. Okay, let's move." We approached the ladder and climbed it, sneaking our way to the cache.

"*whisper* Alright, on the count of three. One… two… three." We surprised the enemy and held them at gun point. "Everyone freeze!" Most of the Chinese soldiers put their guns down except for one. "Put the gun down! If you don't comply, we'll use force!" The Chinese soldier lunged at me with a knife, I grabbed his arm, lifted it up and broke his arm. I then grabbed him and slammed him to the ground.

"You fight bravely, American."

"Xander, this Ahsoka. The munitions cache is ours. We've got some prisoners here."

"Good, nicely done Ahsoka, let the Afghans handle the prisoners. I need you to come back here, we've got a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"You better see for yourself."

"What's the plan Ahsoka?"

"We need to get back to the base. Mekata! Order the soldiers to cuff the prisoners. Now come on, we don't have much time." We mounted our horses and rode out to the base and met up with Xander.

"What is it Xander?"

"Scouts reported a tank followed by APCs, but the tank wasn't your usual T-34, it looked like a behemoth, It reportable has two cannons."

"Well then Xander, go ahead and get on a horse and let's take it out."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"Hey, you're not called the SPARTANs beat tactician for nothing."

"Yeah but, General Assad was constantly breathing down my neck while you guys were out there."

We rode out to the entrance of the base and waited for the tank to show up.

"Shit! Ahsoka, you better take a look a this." Xander handed me his binoculars to see the horizon, I saw to Afghan soldiers.

"Are those two the scouts? Xander?"

"Yeah, they're the scouts." I saw the scouts running when suddenly an explosion kills one and then the tank killed the other one when he tried to run away.

"Hmph… the Chinese want to show one last display of brute force. Well let's so then one last display of courage! Are you all with me!" All the soldiers with me yelled out a battle cry as we charged the enemy. I got close the tank when it fired close to me and killed my horse. The tank was closing in on me, I pushed the horses corpse off me and rolled out of the tanks way. _Shit, that was close_

"Ahsoka! I got you!" I saw Kyle riding towards me. "Come on, princess!"

"Bring me along side the tank!" We rode to the back of the tank and I jumped on it. "Ahsoka! Here take this mortar shell!" Kyle handed me a mortar shell and shot the machine gunner on the command hatch of the tank. I was about to throw the mortar in when someone popped out from the tank and punched me in the face.

" _Sokolov must die."_

"Sokolov…" I was losing myself I saw one of my captors when I was imprisoned in Vorkuta. I jumped on top of him and started to brutally beat him up, I then threw the mortar inside the tank and jumped off with the tank exploding behind me. "Sokolov must die…" I began to chock 'Sokolov' when Kyle hit him with his AK.

"What the hell a Jap- Sokolov, of course he's involved. Ahsoka, are you alright.

We took 'Sokolov' to an interrogation room.

"Kyle, maybe I should interrogate him."

"Maybe you should stay the fuck out off my way. I got unfinished business with this bastard."

"Heh… I left you to rot away in Angola, Agent Miller. You should be dead."

"No one told me. My buddy Assad told me that you're doing business with a Yakuza drug lord named Suzukaze Sakamoto. What do you do for him."

"Fuck you all."

I grabbed him and Kyle stabbed his hand. Something was off though, 'Sokolov' was wearing a Imperial Japanese Army uniform and I saw Xander talking with Mekata.

"You believe in "an eye for an eye." Huh. This is the Afghan Army. They bury you in the sand and leave to die in the desert.

I grabbed my M1911 and began to see numbers and here voices in my head.

" _Sokolov must die…"_

"I give Sakamoto information on the Japanese and American military strength."

"Why?" While Kyle was interrogating 'Sokolov' I was trying to fight this odd urge to kill him.

"So, he's raising an army to fight the Japanese. And you sold your homeland out."

"The emperor is going insane, and the crown prince is a sympathetic liberal who shouldn't be in command of the Army."

"So it's politics that caused you to defect."

 _Must die…_

"Sakamoto is paying a lot of money to people that are willing to overthrow the Japanese government. He's more powerful than you know, he even has people in the CI-" *gunshot* I completely lost control and I shot 'Sokolov' in the head, at least I thought it was. After I shot him in the head, the body's face changed and I saw a Imperial Japanese Army general.

"What the hell Is wrong with you Ahsoka!"

"Put your hands up, infidels!"

"The fuck are you all doing." The Afghan soldiers with us in the interrogation room raised their guns on us and held us at gun point, then General Assad walked up.

"Sakamoto told me you all must suffer."

"You two-faced son of a bitch!" The soldiers grabbed us and put us in a chockhold and threw us to the ground.

"No. You are and always will be our true enemy." Next thing I know I fainted, and I woke up on a truck with Assad over me.

"Without water and shelter, you may last a day. If you are strong." Assad and his soldiers threw us out of the truck and left to die in the desert. I thought I was going to die when I saw someone appeared on horseback.

 _It… It can't_ be… _Vasili._ Vasili was the man who helped me escape Vorkuta, he didn't come with me but I always felt like he escaped later on.

"Vasili… is that you…"

 **April 20** **th** **, 2011**

 **Vincennes Private Girl's Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **0730hrs**

 **Masaya's POV**

After my mission in Myanmar, I heard reports that a rouge Imperial Army general was killed by Americans that were supporting the Afghan Army from Chinese Invasion, normally the government would be outraged by this fact, but since the general was considered A.W.O.L and was openly working for Sakamoto, in fact Yanase told me he got clearance for an assassination order for this General directly from the emperor himself to assassinate him so in a way those Americans sparred me the trouble of going to Afghanistan to kill the general. When I got back to Tsurugigoaka me and my squad went to a bar, Kaido and Yamato had a little too much to drink while Haruzuko was modest with his alcohol consumption while I being a minor was allowed to drink only soft drinks though Sergeant Kaido handed me a pack of cigarettes and a can of beer as a gift or something.

"Masaya, are you in there?"

"Yes, I'm just getting changed." Rise knocked on my door to see if I was there, poor lass was probably worried sick about me but as a soldier, I must answer the call of duty now matter what, however I still had to put on normal clothes as I was still in my armour .

*click*

"Alright, I'm done, now what do you need?"

"I was just wondering if you were here. You've been gone since you and Chiho made up and I was just wondering where you were."

"I was working my part-time job."

"Your part-time job? Masaya didn't you say you debt was paid."

"I did, but I still have one job right now that's very important, my part time job is what we in the lower world call a garbage disposal specialist."

"Garbage disposal specialist? What do you do that makes it special and important?"

"Well there is some garbage in this world that need a highly trained specialist to dispose of." Stuff like explosive garbage or nuclear waste."

"Masaya, why would you want to work with explosives again after that incident that almost killed you?"

"Because they're some things in this world that are out of my control. Regardless I'm off duty now, so what's on today's agenda?"

"Well it's almost May and around this time Vincennes has what we call a May Festival where we dress up for a ball and have a whole night of fun and dancing, doesn't it sound fun to you."

"Well let's see your asking a guy who spent most of his life in a tiny house with a complete bastard of a father and almost died trying to pay his loan only for that little piece of shit to abandon you. But enough about me, honestly for as much pain as I've been through maybe it's finally time to have some R&R."

"Great, as leader of the White Lily society I have to be planning the events before the dance, well we can discuss this during our meeting after school, we're going to be late for class."

My classes went on like usual, I sit at the back of the class at the window, I turned on my tactical eyepiece, pretending I gave a shit about today's lesson, at one point I was considering lighting a cigarette right then and there but held back on that plan.

"Mr. Okonogi, I would appreciate it if you can pay attention to the class!"

"I am Sister Yamamoto, your just not thinking straight."

"All right then. Mr. Okonogi if you know so much about 12th century Japan will explain to us what the Mizakian-Matsumuro War was about."

"Sister Yamamoto, the Mizakian-Matsumuro War was a conflict that occurred from 1194 to 1198 between the kingdoms of Mizaki and Matsumuro. The Matsumuro wanted to conquer the Mizakian kingdom but were defeated after the Matsumuro King was killed in the final battle of the war by the Ancient Hero and the crown prince of Mizakian kingdom."

"I'm honestly surprised you know that Mr. Okonogi. As much as it pains me to do it, you get an A+ for today's history lesson. But please pay attention even if you know the answer."

"Fine, but I'm not making any promises."

*ring*

"Ah… the lunch bell, hey Masaya we were going to eat in the garden at Maria Hall, will you join us in discussing our plan for the festival."

"Hmph… I kinda have to as a member of the society."

"Right, come on let's go."

As we walked outside I decided to grab one of my cigarettes and light it up, of course Rise smelled the tobacco and questioned why I have a cigarette in my mouth.

"Masaya! What are doing with that cigarette, I didn't know you smoked."

"This is my first time ever, Kaido said it helps with my stress."

"Who's Kaido?"

"He's a co-worker at my job, he transferred from the Ikebukuro Sector of our company just a couple days ago."

 _Damn that was close, I almost gave away my identity.._

"Just a quick question, Masaya does you job have a military promotion structure?"

"Uh… yes, why do you ask?"

"When we first met you answered a call as Sergeant Okonogi, and I overheard you talk to a Colonel Yanase, is he your boss."

"Yes this Colonel Yanase is my boss, he was the one who wanted me for this special job, along with a wealthy businessman man, an American named William Goldman."

"I've heard of William Goldman, he's the CEO of Goldman Industries, a powerful technology corporation. They range from military to advanced biotechnology, I've heard he has a private military he owns. Masaya I hate to ask but is he the one who gave you your "cybernetic enhancements"."

"Yeah, after the incident he personally requested that I receive state of the art cybernetic augmentation."

"Why would he do that just for you. A Japanese student he's never met."

"I don't know. I was in a coma for almost two weeks after the incident. When I woke up, the enhancements were already implanted inside me. I couldn't even go to my fallen crew-members funeral service.

"Crewmen? Didn't you tell me that your co-workers were EOD specialist?"

"…We used the term crewmen as we were working on a military base."

"I see… well that was a good talk but we should probably eat now."

"Of course, lead the way."

We ate at the courtyard outside Maria Hall. I couldn't help but internally chuckle at the girls as Rise and Chiho were staring at me like hawks tying to compete for prey, while Ruriko was glaring at me with a twinkle in her eyes. I scanned Rise and Chiho's pheromone levels to see that they were high on Androstenone, which essentially means that they were horny for me. I also analyzed that they were blushing and had a rapid heartbeat.

"So… Masaya how's it been since we last saw each other."

I let out a puff of smoke and answered Chiho's question.

"Well… aside from some "complications" I've been alright."

"That's good. So where did you live during your time away."

"My father and I thought we made it safe in Akihabara but then we had to flee to Yokohama for a while, then we moved to Yokosuka where we last were, before coming back to Tsurugigoaka."

"Did the Yakuza in Yokosuka ever try and hunt you down while you were there. I heard that there's killer known as "The Ripper" that is terrorizing the city."

"…No, we kept them off us for a while and I was fortunate not to encounter the "Ripper"

"That's surprising, the Yakuza are usually very violent when I comes to collecting debt. Remember when me, you, and Makoto went to go see that one Yakuza movie with Beat Takeshi in it."

"Yeah, I'm surprised Makato and his dad managed to get us premier night tickets to it. Speaking of which how is Makoto doing? Is he still at Eitatsu?"

"He got accepted for a full-scholarship to the Imperial Academy. He was so happy when he got it, his father was literally tossing him in the air in joy."

"Well when we first met, he told me how he wanted to be a Calvary officer like his father and his idol, the crown prince."

"Yeah no kidding. Crap look at the time it's almost time for class. I'll see you guys after school."

"Chiho's right, we should head to class. Goodbye everyone."

We all left the courtyard to go to class, Rise was a little irked that me and Chiho went on about our lives prior to Vincennes. With that me and Rise headed to gym class, me being the only man and having an unfair advantage with my cybernetics was basically told to run around the track or do exercises. After about an hour Rise came up to me and wanted to talk with me.

"Salutations Masaya, what are doing right now."

"Just some cardio workout. I need to keep my body in prime condition."

"That's good, we're playing softball and I just struck out so I came to talk to you."

 _Goddamnit her gym uniform is so tight I can practically se her knickers under her shirt. I really should of keep my trousers on._

" _*cough*_ Well that just means you need to get better."

"So for the May festival we need a plan for our theme and-

"Oh no, Rise look out!"

I turned my head to see a softball make a beeline for Rise. Reflexively I blocked it with my cybernetic hand, however the softball was going so fast that when it hit my hand, it jammed the gears in my fingers leaving me with all my fingers bent in unnatural ways. My arm is surgically connected to my nervous system so I felt a jolt of pain.

"OW! God fucking dammit!"

"Oh no! Masaya, are you okay."

"Ngh… I'll be fine…"

"Masaya, do your fingers normally bend that way?"

"No, but I'm fine really. Nothing a good maintenance can fix."

"Here Masaya, let me see your hand. Wow this is really strong! What metal did they use."

"My arm is mainly consisted of a inner layer of kevlar and a outer layer of a titanium alloy. Guess you got some good batters on your softball team."

"Why would you need such strong material for a arm."

"Oh my, Rise! Are you all right?!"

"I was worried that you got hurt Rise."

 _Tsk… what a bunch of bleeding bitches._

"I'm fine, but the one whose hurt is Masaya. Look at his hand!

Rise showed them my hand. Instead of sympathizing with me they just left in whispers.

"Hmph…"

"I'm sorry Masaya, you must get that a lot. It must be hard trying to live a normal life when people treat you like a second-class citizen."

"…I've been treated like shit by this world from the day I was born. These girls have no idea what this world is really like."

 _Please help me_

That was a voice of a girl, a girl I saw get helplessly thrown into the back of a van to be never seen again. That girl was a Vincennes student, forever to be used like a bloody sex doll for corrupt politicians, rich businessman, and the Yakuza.

"Masaya, what are you going to do about your arm."

"I'll just skip class to repair it. I've got a maintenance kit in my dorm, I'll see you later Rise."

I left the athletics field and went to my dorm to work on my arm. While working on the jammed gears I kept thinking back on my life.

"Heh… a bloody crybaby turned cyborg commando, ain't that poetic."

Just then I saw my tv turn on and saw something truly horrifying and sickening.

"Breaking News. Japanese forces under the command of Lieutenant General Kotaro Fukomoto have reportedly used chemical weapons to murder the population of a Chinese village east of Beijing. U.N leaders have condemned the Japanese Army for violating the Geneva Conventions which prohibits the use of chemical weapons against soldiers and civilians. In response, the U.S president George Franklin has urged the U.S congress to enact sanctions on the Empire of Japan, a move which can trigger even more tension between Japan and the U.S. In other news the search for the Yokosuka murderer known as "The Ripper is still ongoing.

I saw grim pictures of men, women, and children dead. Some were brutally maimed and some women were killed while being raped.

*ring*

"Colonel, what is it?"

"Did you see the news, that little craven I swear if I see his sorry ass I'll kill him myself."

"Yanase, slow down. I saw the report, I made me sick."

"General Fukomoto is a coward, to be honest Masaya the crown prince hates him with a passion, he is not to be trusted."

"If he ever finds himself at the business end of my weapon, I won't hesitate to end his life."

"Right… to add to this shit storm, with this massacre, Sakamoto will have a boost in recruits plus the whole United Nations is now placing sanctions against us."

Next thing I know my TV flashed colors and then I saw Sakamoto on it.

"Do you all now see what the Empire of Japan does to innocents. They murdered them in cold blood. My sources tell me that this attack was ordered by the emperor himself. Now come my friends, let us seek a newer, better world free of the tyrannical Imperial militarist."

 _This is a disaster. Here I am fighting for an empire that just killed tens of innocents. What side of history am I really on? Are the Japanese the evil ones in this war._

"Grr… I just don't know. Takeshi was right, my mind and soul are truly being tested.

After the revelation that a whole army division had murdered a whole village, for lack of better terms I was on edge the rest of class.

"Mr. Okonogi pay attention to the class!"

…

"Mr. Okonogi do I need to inform the head mistress."

…

"Mr. Okonogi!"

"Shut up you bitch!"

"What was that?!"

"You heard me, I told you to shut up. You're annoying the hell out of me."

"You delinquent, I should have you expelled from my class. Better yet I should just fail you.

"Go right ahead. I don't need this class, I clearly know more English than you."

"How can you say that with certainty."

"Let's face facts here lady. I'm half-British, your full Japanese. You had to take these useless classes, I learned English naturally from my mother. Point is I know more than you."

"I-I… your right, I see that you are better at this then me sorry to interrupt you Mr. Okonogi."

*ring*

I left the class with Rise and we silently headed to Maria Hall, after we stepped out of the main building I lit up another cigarette much to Rise's concern."

"Okay, we're all here. So since all of you have had no experience in society politics here's how the May Festival is planned. We first have to decide what will be our theme for it will be as we will have activities planned before the dance. With that being said does anyone have any ideas?"

We all stared blankly at Rise as like she pointed out, we had no idea about how the societies work aside from the representative and members.

"What if we do something fun before the dance, like a big game or something?"

"That's not a bad idea Chiho. What game did you have in mind?"

"I was hoping you would planned that part out to be honest."

"Well that can't be helped. Masaya do you have any other ideas… Masaya?

"Hmm… Uh… how about Easter eggs. My mum told me she loved to hunt them when she grew up in London."

"Ahh… bringing a western tradition, I like that. So what should the eggs be filled with?"

"I don't know… maybe candy or something."

"Excuse me Rise but what if we put people's names in the eggs?"

"Why do you suggest that Ruriko?"

"If we want this game to coincide with the dance, then maybe we should have people's names in the eggs and depending who's name you get, your first dance is with them."

"Oh wow! Yeah I love that idea Ruriko. If we do that then one, we won't see multiple students wanting to dance with someone and two it will help boost our cause. Oh man look at the time, it's 4:30. We'll finish this tomorrow."

With that our meeting came to an end and I walked back to my dorm when Rise asked a question.

"Hey Masaya, why do you carry that pistol?"

"…At my job not only do I dispose of trash but I'm also head of the security which mean I need to carry my sidearm at all times."

"Wow, that's pretty impressive, yet frightening somehow. Anyways I have to ask you, why were you so listless during the meeting?

"I was just lost in thought, I really need to go, see you later Rise."

 **April 20** **th** **, 2011**

 **2100hrs**

 **Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

I snuck out of the school to go to the city down below, I found it refreshing that I can walk by myself. I walked through the shopping district when suddenly.

"Takumi! Come back to mama, you're going to get run over!"

I saw a five year old kid wondering into the street, his mother scared for her life. Not wanting to see another kid die, I activated my grappling hook, shot it at the kid, it wrapped around him and I pulled the rope towards me right before a car came speeding towards the area the kid was at.

"You alright kid?"

"Woah, how did you do that. Mama! Mama! Did you see that, this man pulled me from the road."

"I saw it Takumi. I don't know who you are but, I'm thankful you saved my son."

"Please ma'am, I just didn't want to see him die. A word of advice, keep track of your son."

"Yes of course… Uh."

"Masaya, Masaya Okonogi, now if you'll excuse me."

"Mama! Can Papa do what that guy can?"

"I hope not. Come on Takumi we need to get back home to Papa."

I continued walking down the street when I came across a clothing store. I walked in and scanned what they had in stock when I spotted a black leather trench coat that looked appealing.

"Excuse me sir. How much is that coat?"

"That will be 15,000 yen."

"Hmm… you no what, I'll take it."

"Thank you for your purchase sir. Though I must say you look awfully familiar, are you that mysterious guy who lives in a manor in the mountains."

"What? No, I'm Sergeant Masaya Okonogi of the 1st Imperial Commando Regiment."

"Ah… sorry I'm mistaken you for someone else. Well have a good night Sergeant Okonogi."

"Thanks, and you too sir."

I left the shop in my new trench coat and continued walking when I spotted a familiar face.

"Yo, Sarge is that you?!"

 _Sergeant Kaido…_

"Hello, Sergeant Kaido, what is it that you want?"

"I was just walking through town when I saw you walking out of that store. Anyways care to have a seat."

"I guess so, by the way what were you doing."

"Eh… just here, I got bored at Yokosuka, so I decided to spend the week in Tsurugigoaka."

Me and Sergeant Kaido sat down on a bench, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer, we talked about our lives before becoming commandos. Something about him had me curious, he sounded very 'American'.

"Damn Mas, you've been to hell and back haven't you, a cowardly little kid turned stone cold son of a bitch. I can only imagine the thought of taking on Chinese Commandos much less being a SPARTAN operative."

"Yeah, I was surprised when Mr. Goldman inducted me into the SPARTAN program "

"Hey Mas do you have a callsign by any chance?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"Well then I guess I should give you one. How does Raiden sound, is it good enough for you?"

"Raiden?"

"Yeah, you know like the cyborg ninja from Metal Gear Solid. To be honest you two share some similarities like your "pretty boy charm" and the fact you' rea cyborg super soldier."

"Heh, I can't help but agree. Alright then I guess my callsign is now Raiden."

After getting my new nickname from Yusuke, he began to tell me why his life, which I found pretty interesting.

"You know I noticed something. Your accent, It's very-"

"American, yeah I guess there's no harm in telling you. See I'm only half Japanese, like you only instead of England, my mom was born in Brooklyn, New York and when she turned 18 in 1984 she joined the U.S Navy where she was sent to Yokosuka, there she met my father who was a civilian contractor working for the Americans. They met around mid-1988 while my mom was off duty, they hit it off well and 9 months later in the summer of '89 I was born. After I was born my mom was discharged from the navy and moved with my father to Ikebukuro to raise me. Now my pop was a busy man so he had to work long nights when I was a kid so my mom was really the one teaching me at home before I went to school, that's why I have the New York accent, heh ya know Japanese wasn't even my first language, my mom taught me English then my dad eventually help me learn Japanese.

 _Let me see his record._

 _Yusuke Kaido_

 _DOB: 7/4/1989_

 _Age:21_

 _Height: 5ft 11in_

 _Weight: 175Ib_

 _Blood Type: O+_

 _Parents: Takahiro Kaido- A aeronautical engineer_

 _Erika Kaido- An American-born navel weapons systems specialist._

 _Occupation: Soldier(1_ _st_ _Imperial Commando Regiment.)_

"Wait Yusuke, when we were in Myanmar you said you couldn't speak English when Mr. Davidson pleaded to you, yet you say English was your first language."

"*sigh* Because I was worried. With this political shit storm going on between the U.S and Japan, I tried to suppress my American heritage by pretending to not know English. I'm pretty sure had this been the U.K were we talking about then you would try to hide your British heritage."

"Yusuke, the actions and the way you live your life is what defines you as a person, not your parents or your blood. My family's great bloodline was tainted by my father but that doesn't stop me from making my own path in life. In war it doesn't matter who you are, what political beliefs you have, or race and ethnicity you are, we are all bound by a common purpose, to protect and defend those we care for. So Yusuke I ask you as a friend, be yourself, don't let your ethnic background stop you from being a good man and soldier." I admit my words were pretty corny but Yusuke agreed and vowed to be his own man now.

"You're right, I need to find my own path. Thanks Mas, for a cold limey bastard like yourself, you can also be a real nice guy."

"Yeah, I guess that was one thing that incident didn't completely destroy…" We talked some more about each other when Yusuke told me how exactly he became a commando.

"Now Masaya, promise you won't tell anyone about this."

"Don't worry Yusuke, my lips are sealed."

"Right, the reason I'm a Commando is because I had two choices. Rot in prison for attempted robbery or to join the army, as you see I choose the latter. Heh… can you believe a dye-pack caused me to become a commando.

"No, honestly for someone who tried to rob a bank to become one of the most elite soldiers on the planet is uncommon to say the least.

"Alright, now that I've revealed something embarrassing about me, what about you Mas. A guy like you must have something embarrassing about them.

"I-ugh… fine it's only fair. Okay, so when me and my father were hiding in Akihabara, I needed a job, when a man walked up to and said in broken English "You are foreigner right?" I told him that I was half-Japanese, he then said "You have body and face of professional male model." At first I thought he was going to make me sign a contract putting me on a model shooting session or put me in a J-pop boy band, but no… no he asked me if I do crossdressing a-"

"*hysterical laughter* No fucking way! Did he- Did you- seriously?! Mas for the love of everything holy, did you work as a crossdressing maid in Akihabara?!"

"S-Shut up, I needed the bloody cash! You would've done the same under those circumstances." I was getting flustered, image the headlines no, imagine what would happen if the girls found out.

"Hey, I'm not the one who makes girl's panties wet just from talking in a smooth James Bond sounding British accent. Tell me did any girl or dudes give you their phone numbers?"

"Some girls saw through the costume and tried to get me to have sex with them or I got the bloke who thought I was a girl and he'd grab my arse and ask me to do 'Moe' shit. I'm telling you Yusuke, never in my life had I wanted to die in embarrassment. Anyways I should head back to Vincennes."

"I'll join you, I don't say this a lot but I rather like you Masaya."

"Thanks, it's good to have a good relationship with you soldiers." We walked the mountain road to Vincennes, discussing various things when suddenly I heard a familiar voice.

"Well if it isn't Masaya, or should I say "The Ripper" , never thought I'd see you again, especially not after that shit that happened with the Chinese, after all you were considered dead when you were brought in."

I was shocked, it was an old accomplice of mine from my time in the mafia, more so he brought up the one thing I hated most, the name the media gave me "The Ripper". The reason I have such a alias like that is because… I became known as the Yokosuka mafia's erred boy, meaning I was personally responsible for the deaths of countless people. When the news first reported about me they said I was "Japan's Jack the Ripper", murdering people in the darkness of night and never being linked to my crimes. Though the thing is while I know of my crimes, I can't remember vividly how I murdered my victims

"Wait Mas, you're the infamous 'Ripper', I knew something was not right but damn."

"…Ukyo, what are you doing here. I told you already, I'm not going back."

"Aw come on… the boss really wants you to. He is still upset after you decided to go straight. Be honest Masaya, you enjoyed your time with us in the Yakuza."

"Wait a minute, Masaya, you're a Yakuza member."

"I was… briefly, and like I told you Ukyo I'm never going back to committing crimes for a little bit of money."

"Really, it will be a shame if your friends found out that you help kidnap two Vincennes students, well technically one as the other was killed by "The Ripper" before we can make a-"

"Shut your bloody face up, you spineless bastard!" I attacked my former Yakuza "brother", pinning him to the floor and beating him until blood poured from his nose and mouth.

"Woah Mas cut it out, you're gonna kill him!." Yusuke pulled me away and I regained myself after what seemed like I was possessed by a demon.

"Ack… damn limey, you've certainly gotten stronger. Hey why don't we forget this ever happened, in exchange I'll give you whatever intel you need on Sakamoto."

"How much do you know about Sakamoto, Ukyo?"

"Heh… He's a fellow Yakuza but he's a fucking lunatic, rumor has it he worships some mysterious vampire or something, the point is if you forget that we met right now, I won't tell your friends about you time with us in the Yakuza and I'll tell you everything you want about Sakamoto. Deal?"

"Hmph… fine we have a deal, although if I so much as sense even the slightest amount of treachery, I will not hesitate to kill you. You got that!"

"Roger that Mr. Robo-Commando-Gah!"

I punched him in the gut and knocked him out to shut him up, afterwards putting his unconscious body in the middle of the park.

"You know Masaya, I honestly think you have some serious issues."

"Yeah, don't we all, plus when you've been through the shit I've seen, you really think I'm normal."

"Whatever, I'll see you later, take care Mas."

"You too, Dye-Pack." I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You know what Masaya, you're an asshole."

"Hey, at least I know how to properly rob a bank without getting the dye-pack."

"Man, Fuck you too Robo-Cop!"

"Ha ha…*sigh* that was too good." I snuck back into Vincennes where I saw Rise waiting for me.

"Rise?! Have you been standing their the entire time."

"I saw you talking to that man and I got curious. Also I was wondering what does SPARTAN- 4112 meant."

Uh… It's a username I use for my job nothing more.

 _This girl keeps getting more curious as the days go by. I don't know how long I can keep lying to her._

 **That concludes Chapter 5 of this story and this was one hell of a Chapter. The Sakamoto arc is starting to take off, The Japanese Army commits a war crime, and we learn that Masaya isn't or I should say wasn't what most people had in mind. Anyways I will like to apologize in advance for the delay as my computer charger broke and I couldn't upload this way sooner, plus I got really busy with school (Chemistry was a stressful pain in the ass). Anyways stay tune next time for Chapter 6 where Masaya will see which girl will be his dance partner for the May Festival activity.**

 **Please leave some feedback, it really helps me out. Until next time- Shepherds12**


	7. Chapter 6: Dancing until Dawn, with You

**Just a quick note, I had an idea to add music cues to the story as I feel that music can help the scenes. I thinks that's better than just reading word. A quick disclaimer, I don't own any of the music and all rights belong to their respective owners.**

 **Chapter 6: Dancing until Dawn, with you.**

 **April 21** **st** **, 2011**

 **Vincennes Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **0350hrs**

 **Masaya's POV**

 **Now Playing: The Dim Abyss- Fire Emblem Fates OST**

I saw fire everywhere, every inch of what I assumed was a facility was covered in an inferno. Flames dancing around me, I couldn't help but feel afraid but also I felt a sense of familiarity like I'd been in this situation before.

 _Where the bloody hell am I? Why am I in my armour, why do I have this sword, and who's that coming out of the flames?_

I saw a man emerge from the flames, a man who was in his twenties but how did he manage to emerge from fire and be just fine.

"Ha ha… Masaya you fool, you can't kill me. As you see I am no longer a shriveled old man, but an eternal vampire!"

"A…vampire? S-Sakamoto?"

"That's right, and now I'll kill you and drink your draconic blood to gain unlimited power!"

"That's not going to happen! Not while I still breath!"

"Oh… we'll see about that. Time Stop!"

Suddenly I was frozen in place, I couldn't move a single muscle.

 _How did he… did he stop time… no, that's impossible, no one can stop time, granted he is a vampire, and vampires shouldn't exist… right?_

"Heh heh heh… I remember when Lord Ketsuki was in this same situation with your father, and guess what. Your pathetic father is dead! Now it's your turn… to die!"

Just before Sakamoto lunged at me I awoke in my bed at Vincennes. The abrupt wake up caused me to scream at the top of my lungs and flailing around covered in sweat.

"*pant* *pant* God damnit, what the devil was that… Sakamoto h-he was young and a…a vampire, almost like the type Bram Stoker wrote entire novels about."

I regained my composure and checked the time, it was 3:50 in the morning.

 _Brilliant, if the girls didn't wake up to that, then they must be unchallenged in how long they can sleep._

I re-checked Sakamoto's Imperial Record, the only picture of the man I've seen is his mugshot from 1975 when he was arrested for illegal distribution of cocaine. The problem was that photo was taken nearly 40 years ago, Sakamoto was born in 1949 so today he would be 62, but the man I saw in my dream was at the most 28 years old.

"I don't believe that Sakamoto's a vampire, those creatures are works of fiction, they can't possibly exist can they?… I need to get to the bottom of this."

I turned on my computer and opened the web browser to search up "vampires in real life", to my shock a saw on article from 1993 that scared me, it read.

 _Tokyo News Network Special Report_

 _Captain Yuuji Okonogi, Modern-day vampire hunter._

 _By Hitomi Kurosawa._

 _Date:3/24/1993_

 _Many know of the heroic feats of Captain Yuuji Okonogi, son of the great General Ryosuke Okonogi but now he's been in the public eye for very startling reasons. A week ago the Okonogi estate in central Tokyo was set ablaze and the wife of General Okonogi, Tomoka Okonogi was murdered by ex-Imperial Commando Ketsuki Nijimura. According to testimonies given by the crown prince and fellow-commando Captain Ryuto Yanase who were at the estate, Lieutenant Nijimura transformed into a vampire and burned down the mansion to try and kill the Okonogi's. Now Captain Okonogi and his father are searching for the vampire which sources say is collaborating with the Soviet Empire. More will be available as this story develops._

 _Hitomi Kurosawa, Chief Journalist, Tokyo News Network._

"This is fucking madness, I can't get this over my head, my uncle had to fight a vampire, did he beat him? Did he get killed and that's why I don't know him? I…I need some bloody answers!"

I decided to let it go for now and went back to bed, somewhat frightened I was going to have another nightmare.

 **8 hours later.**

 **Now Playing: Thoughtless as Usual- Princess Evangile OST.**

3rd period has just ended when I received a anonymous text message on my Vincennes phone. The message read.

 **Now Playing: Turmoil- Princess Evangile OST.**

" _Urgent! Chiho is in danger! Please hurry!"_

 _What the fuck? Chiho's in danger. I need to check this shit out!_

I activated my tracking feature to scan for Chiho's GPS, the tracker pinpointed her location to her classroom. I dashed through the halls to Chiho's room, stacking up against the door, I pulled out my M1911 not even realizing that everyone around me were watching. Without a moments hesitation I kicked down the door and breached the room.

"Chiho, are you all right-Oh fuck…"

I quickly realized that there was no trouble at all and that the girls were in the middle of changing into their gym uniforms leaving them in nothing but their underwear, one poor lass was in the middle of putting on her sports bra and quickly covered her chest even though I already saw her bare breasts. Poor Ruriko was also almost completely naked too.

 _Shit, this is bad. I need to think of something other than Chiho and Ruriko's big breasts. And I thought I grew a lot, but Chiho was not this well-endowed when we were at Eitatsu._

"Masaya… What the hell are you doing…"

I could sense the approaching danger to me and immense anger coming from Chiho, not wanting the situation to get out of control I told her the truth.

"Uh… Chiho. I got a text that said you were…*cough* in danger."

"Oh… I am in danger…from the Tentateur Serpent!"

"Well… isn't this lovely, heh well I'll just-"

"Get the hell out you robo-pervert!"

Just like the time I was caught in nothing but my boxer, the girls threw their books and pencils, one girl even chucked her bloody shoe at me. Like last time I dodged most of the onslaught but the occasional textbook or pen hit me, one textbook scrapped the tip of my chin which caused tripped on a history book and tumble outside the room to come face to face with the Gardiane commander from when I met Rise, chillingly she addressed me with my imperial army rank.

"Sergeant Okonogi, on your feet. You're in a lot of trouble young man."

 _Young man… You're only 8 years older than me._

"Are you listening to me?! Sister Mishima and I will interrogate you until we find out why you went into this classroom during their gym period."

"Hold it "Captain" I came here because of a text I received from an anonymous user."

"Do you think I'll believe your lie, a man like you know better Sergeant Okonogi. Now don't fight this and we'll get this sorted out as quickly as possible."

The Gardiane commander led my to Sister Mishima's class and from their they interrogated me in the rose garden.

"Masaya, be honest did you go to the classroom knowing that the girls were changing."

"No, as I said before, the reason I went to Chiho's classroom was because an anonymous text I received. If you don't believe me, take a look."

I tossed my phone onto the table and Captain Suzuki examined the message.

"Hmm… It appears you did. Sister, what do suggest we do."

"We should go to the user and ask her why she would pull a prank like that. If we get an answer, the punishment will fall on her."

"Sister, if I may. I don't think that this was just a harmless prank, I think that whoever sent this text intended for me to get in trouble."

"You could be right, though do you have any leads."

"Simple, we track the users phone number and it'll pinpoint us right to the culprit."

"My, My Masaya, I didn't know you were quite the detective. Very well, Captain I think we should let Masaya investigate this matter and if he finds nothing, we'll give him his punishment."

"I agree Sister, Sergeant Okonogi you are permitted to investigate the identity of our culprit."

"Right… I'll start right away."

With that I left the rose garden and began my search for the student behind this text message fiasco.

 _Let's see, according to the number information, the student is Misato Ito from class 2-A. So she's a 2_ _nd_ _year too huh, all the more easier._

I made my way to 2-A where Misato was in. I walked in during break time and approached Misato.

"Misato, I need to speak to you, preferably in private."

"Why do you need me Masaya."

"I need to ask you something, now come with me."

While I spoke to Misato, I heard whispering from her classmates.

" _What does that man want with Misato."_

" _I don't know, but it can't be good"_

" _Hey, look at Mitsuki, she's just standing around looking worried."_

The girl was right, I noticed Mitsuki was shifting uncontrollably around not meeting anyone's eyes.

 _I think I found my next lead, honestly I'm not surprised that bitch would do something like this._

"Misato will you please come with me."

I tried to use what Yusuke called my "pretty boy charm" to get Misato to come with me. Unsurprisingly she fell for it and followed me to one of the empty classrooms.

"Okay I'll make this brief, Have you sent any text messages recently?"

"No, I haven't. We only send text messages for educational purposes."

"Interesting. Tell me, do you think you keep good track of your phone, it's very likely someone took your phone when you weren't looking."

"Well… sometimes I leave it on my desk when I go to the restroom."

"That explains it. Well I appreciate your cooperation, I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"No, not at all. Um… can I ask you something."

"What?"

"Can I touch your arm, the cyborg one."

"Why would you want too."

"Because I'm fascinated by your "cybernetic enhancements" that Tamie boasts you have."

"Fine but be quick."

"Okay…"

She lifted my button-up's sleeve and pulled the glove off to reveal my prosthetic arm, she gently caressed it, and spoke a prayer.

"You must have God's luck to survive such an accident."

"Yeah right, alright that's enough okay, I'll take my leave now."

I brushed her off and put back on my glove and pulled down the sleeve and walked out the room, next thing I know I saw a vision, a terrible vision.

 _Try as you may Masaya you can't alter the future, first I'll kill you, then I'll kill your damnable mother, then I'll kill you friends and finally, I'll kill your little girlfriend too._

I saw my mother, Yusuke, Chiho, Ruriko, and Ritsuko, even Takeshi, and finally Rise chained up to a wall I then saw a guy who looked exactly like me approach them and in a my voice he says.

" _Lord Ketsuki, may I be the one to kill them."_

" _Of course_ _ **Masaya,**_ _a son killing their father and his family for the greater cause is quite poetic. Wouldn't you agree Masaya?_

 _Come on Masaya, unleash your fury as the feared "Ripper". Slaughter them like the filth they are._

"Grr… GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

I collapsed onto the floor and laid there, I was breathing quickly and students and teachers stared at me. Eventually the school nurse came to get me on my feet.

"Mr. Okonogi, what's wrong, did you collapse from sudden fatigue or did you trip."

"I-I was walking when suddenly I collapsed and couldn't get up."

"That explains it, I'll send a email to your teachers saying that you suffered from a panic attack and sudden fatigue and collapsed on the floor and that'll you'll be resting in your dorm. No go to your dorm, your excused for the day."

"Thank you, nurse…"

I went to my dorm, took a nap, and laid on my bed for what felt like hours. Then I got a call from Colonel Yanase.

"Sergeant Okonogi, I need to speak to you. Meet me at the Pappatore Moonrock in the shopping district at 2000hrs."

"*grunt* why do I…"

"Because it's of great importance, you are the only one who can do this assignment."

"Okay, I'll be there. By the way what time is it?..."

"It's 1830, are you alright? You seem to not feel well Masaya.

"I-I think 'The Ripper' is coming back Colonel. Just this morning I had a terrible vision and even earlier than that I had a nightmare. It was about Sakamoto, a-and some guy called Lord Ketsuki."

"Ketsuki! No, that's impossible. _Yuuji sacrificed his life to kill him."_

"What was that Colonel?"

"Nothing, just meet me at the restaurant, I need to tell you something."

"Wait Yanase…"

*click*

"What did he say? Does he know something that I don't?"

I pondered that question until I got a knock on my door.

"H-hello Rise. Sorry for the absence, I felt terrible today."

"The nurse told me you had fatigue and you collapsed in the hallway, are you okay?"

"I'm fine now, I took a nap and rested up."

"I see, thank goodness."

"By the way, why did you come here?"

"Um… I wanted to tell you that we've decided that the game before Soirée Dansante will be called "Woo with Oeuf"

"Woo with Oeuf, who decided on that name?"

"It was Ruriko who gave the suggestion, we just agreed to it. Hey Masaya, can I ask you something."

"What is it."

"H-Have you ever danced with a girl before."

"No, I never. Looking back, Chiho was really the only girl I can call a true female friend, the rest of my childhood friends were guys, and even now you, the other White Lilies, and Yusuke are my only people I consider friends."

"That accident… did you lose some friends in it."

"Yeah, it was at the time I had no friends, I had a mentor named Ukyo but he was kinda of a cunt… pardon my language. Anyways the guys I worked with were the closest people I knew at that time I can call a friend, sadly they're all dead and I, the sole survivor."

After I said that we just stared into each other's eyes, Rise and I slowly moved towards each other when she suddenly pulled back.

"I'm sorry, well I should be going. See you tomorrow Masaya."

"Yeah, same here Rise."

I waved her goodbye and after she left I facepalmed myself in embarrassment.

 _Bloody hell, I was so close. But I can't let myself fall in love with her, the last thing I need is to accidentally hurt her as "The Ripper"._

Afterwards I left the school and took the bus to the main district where I met with Yanase.

"Masaya, I need to ask you something. This is a selfish request I know but… I need you to protect my daughter, I fear with my history with Sakamoto he'll try to kill her to get revenge on me for being apart of the raid nearly 20 years ago."

"Wait, let me get this straight. You want me to be your daughter's personal bodyguard, I get the point but the school has their own security force."

"That's the point, I need my best soldier for this assignment, my daughter is all I have and I couldn't live with myself if she was killed like her mother."

Colonel Yanase's wife was killed in a plane crash 4 years ago, that was the reason he even sent his daughter to Vincennes, to protect her.

"Please Masaya, I'm not asking you as your commanding officer but as a father doing his best to protect his child."

"I understand. I wish my father was like that, I honestly envy your daughter that she has a father that cares."

"Right… If only Yuuji was still alive at least he could have been your father figure."

"I wish I knew him… from what you told me, he was a great man."

"He was the bravest, most noble soldier this army ever had, he didn't fight for his own desire, but to protect those he cared for."

"I should get going, I'll be sure to keep an eye for her."

"Masaya wait, I have something for you. It's a gift from your grandfather, your mother's father."

Yanase opened a large briefcase and revealed an SMLE Mk III bolt action rifle, the rifle came with a box of ammunition and a high powered sniper scope.

"Wow, thank you sir, I-I guess this is for protecting you daughter."

"Use it with pride Masaya, like I said the day we met. I have hopes you'll be a good soldier one day."

"I will, I'll do it for you, my fallen comrades, and for my uncle, the great Yuuji Okonogi."

"I know you will, I see Yuuji's bravery and nobility within you, now go and make sure my daughter stays away from harms way."

"Right, thanks again for the gift."

I left the restaurant and went back to Vincennes on the last bus there for the day, while I got some looks from the Gardiane for the most part no one seemed to care that I was carrying a large case. I opened the door to the bell tower, climbed the steps and came to the roof where I opened the case to set up my new rifle. Attaching the scope and loading in the 10 bullets, finally I set the rifle on a bipod. With that I had complete reign over the entire entrance to the school and if I needed to move, I could just readjust the rifle to see the rest of the school. With that I headed down the tower and went back to my dorm for the night where I fell asleep.

 _Why did you have to kill me, I didn't do anything wrong…_

 _I needed the money for my wife and children. My son is now fatherless you monster…_

 _Why… Why are here at Vincennes, a man like you should never be here. Because of you, my kohai is depressed, I hope you're happy, 'Ripper'…_

I heard voices in my head, but not just any voices, but voices of people 'The Ripper' killed.

 **April 22** **nd** **, 2011**

 **1600 hrs**

The school day ended and me and Rise headed for Maria Hall, I spotted Mitsuki from the corner of my eye, as we walked past she froze in place and looked rather afraid yet guilty. We arrived at the White Lily room and were making the final preparations when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Ah… Masaya can you get the door for me please."

"Sure thing Rise."

I went to the door to find Ritsuko and the whole of the Red Rose society at the door.

"Masaya, is it alright if we enter."

"Yes, but why are you here Ritsuko."

"Because I must see what Rise has in mind for the May Festival coming up."

I let them in and took my seat next to Chiho, I noticed Mitsuki was still listless but next to her and Ritsuko was a rather tiny student, she was so short compared to me, I probably stood more than a foot taller. Then Mitsuki suddenly spoke up to announce something.

"Rise, you know how you recruited people to be affiliates. Well we have just inducted one of our own, Konomi if you will."

 _Konomi, hold on a second._

Curiously I scanned her and sure enough, I finally met her. Colonel Yanase's daughter.

 _Konomi Yanase_

 _DOB: 6/14/1996_

 _Age: 14_

 _Height: 4ft 10in_

 _Weight: 87Ib_

 _Blood type: B+_

 _Occupation: Student(Unemployed)_

 _Parents: Colonel Ryuto Yanase, Commander of the 1_ _st_ _Imperial Commando Regiment._

 _Yumiko Yanase, A flower girl from Hiroshima. (Deceased 1973-2007)_

"H-hello, my name is Konomi Yanase, I'm a third year Intermediate Course student.

I noticed that Konomi was very fidgety and her heartbeat was rapid from the nervousness of introducing yourself to upperclassmen and the "seductive serpent."

"Uh… well it's a pleasure to meet you Konomi. I'm Rise Rousenin and these are my friends Chiho Sagisawa, Ruriko Kamiyagi, and Masaya Okonogi."

"It's nice to meet you Konomi."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Konomi."

"Uh… Masaya? Aren't you going to say hello."

"Hmm… Ah right… Masaya Okonogi, a pleasure to meet you Ms. Yanase."

I extended my hand in a sign of friendship only for her to fly back in shock.

"Don't touch me you villain! I will not bear you child!"

"Wha-"

 _Jesus Christ, either she has as much holes in her brain as a piece of Swiss cheese or she's an aspiring actor._

"Konomi, what are you saying?"

"I won't be fooled by your seductive charms, I see the evil in your eyes and I will defend my Onee-sama from your sorcery."

"I'm sorry but what the bloody hell are you taking about?"

 _Is this really Colonel Yanase's daughter? I expected her to be more… mature._

"Konomi, will you please be more considerate to Masaya's feelings, he's under a lot of stress and your yelling isn't helping."

"But I need to be on my guard, incase he does anything evil. I've spent years honing my naginata skills in order to defend the people I love."

 _Damn, I need to think about how I'm going to gain her trust. Maybe she'll fall for my "pretty boy charm"._

"Konomi, now why are making such false accusations of me, I'm just your average high school boy… well, minus the cybernetic part. But come on, I would never hurt any of you."

"I don't believe you. You could be a villainous Yakuza spy or you can be a cyborg sent from the future to kill us all."

 _Does she really believe that I'm a bloody Terminator, it really is hard to be normal when you're a cyborg super soldier._

"Konomi, I'll prove to you that there's nothing to worry about. Here look deep into my eyes, do these look like the eyes of a killer."

"Uh… Don't look at me there!"

"Huh?"

"I-I don't want to be the one to bear the cyborg serpent's children."

Konomi shot back as soon as I made eye contact, her face was a very dark shade of red and she was shivering like a damn chihuahua.

"I don't want to be pregnant, not at this age and by the Tentatuer Serpent!"

Before I could say anything Konomi dashed out of the room and ran outside most likely to her dorm. Dazed, I couldn't help but stare at the door until Ruriko brought me back to my senses.

"Masaya, is it true, you get pregnant from looking at another person's eyes."

"I'm pretty sure that Vincennes has a sex education class right?"

"Yes, all Vincennes students are required to take a health class before graduation, but it appears that Konomi doesn't pay attention in it or hasn't taken it yet." "Regardless I'm sorry for the inconvenience Masaya, Konomi is handful but please don't despise her."

"It's fine Ritsuko, I'm honestly not surprised she's a empty headed girl. Please don't take offense when I say this but Vincennes has quite the few."

"You may be right, anyways we should be going, Rise I wish you good luck on your endeavors."

"Thank you, you all have a good day."

After the Red Rose members left I excused myself and went to confront Mitsuki about yesterday.

 **Mitsuki's POV**

I walked outside to get some air, I was careless with my handling of my plan yesterday. I was scared that Masaya would do something terrible to me.

 _Tsk… that damn limey robot, surely he knows I was the one who set him up. Maybe if I feign ignorance he'll drop his search an-_

"Mitsuki, can I talk to you for a second."

"W-what do you want, I don't want to be associated with you."

"Tsk… look I'll be blunt about this. I know you were the one who sent the text."

"And why would I do something so dishonest as to having you go into a girl's classroom."

"You just answered my question. See the only people that should know about this text message fiasco is me, Captain Suzuki, Sister Mishima, and Misato, you just admitted to it, and I have it all on recording."

Masaya showed me his cyborg arm and it displayed a recording software interface. That lowly robot was recording the whole conversation. I was a fool, I forgot who I was dealing with and now he had blackmail against me.

"Now see I'm a nice guy so I'll give you the choice. Either you cut the shit and stop trying to sabotage my reputation or I expose you as a lying, underhanded, and incompetent Chief de Corp."

 _This damn robot, If he exposes me, the chances for Ritsuko to win will plummet and Marika's righteous plan to uphold Vincennes' traditions will fail because of my incompetence._

"Fine… you win Masaya, I promise to manage an honest campaign for Ritsuko and to not try to slander your name. Are you happy, you limey bastard."

"Careful there love, I could still be recording for all you know."

"Hmph… you're as impulsive as ever Mr. Okonogi, I'll take my leave now."

"One more thing, don't try any funny business. I'll find out in a heartbeat."

 _Hmph… as if, your just a mindless robot._

I walked off trying to keep a angry expression, but his deep yet soothing voice was seductive and his intimidating appearance made me a little worried that he wasn't messing around.

 **Masaya's POV**

I watched Mitsuki stomp off, mostly likely irked that I played her like a damned fool. After that I returned to the society room and Rise called it quits from there, I went back to my dorm, did my homework, and took a shower. Then as I was brushing my hair, as this was some generic horror movie, my reflection talked to me, his voice was demonic and deep and had my British accent

"You can't deny who you really are, you can't change the future, you will die a worthless piece of shit. HAHAHA!"

"What the devil, who are you?"

"Why I'm you, or should I say the real you. Does the name "Ripper" ring a bell."

"This can't be…"

"Heh… you really scored good here. So much beauty, so much innocence. It almost makes you want to kill them all, am I right?"

"No… I'm imagining things, there's-"

"That Rise girl is quite the little bird isn't she. Don't you just want to pin her to the ground and steal her virginity all while you take her life. Hey Masaya, how many people have you killed as a cyborg-."

"GET OUT!"

Before I knew it I punched the mirror that I just replaced, glass shards flew everywhere and my right knuckle was bleeding, but at least the voice was gone.

"I need to calm down, "The Ripper" is all in the past. It's all in the past…"

 _Or is it… *maniacal laughter*_

The rest of the month progressed normally and before I knew it the Festival was almost near.

 **May 3** **rd** **, 2011**

 **1230hrs**

It was the middle of class when Sister Mishima asked me to step out side, at first I thought I was in trouble but I hadn't done anything wrong until she explained why I was pulled out.

"Masaya, I know we don't have a policy on this, but your facial hair is-"

"Pretty bad, yeah I know _. I haven't shaved since Myanmar._ "

"What was that?"

"Nothing. It just that you're right, I need to shave." She wasn't kidding, in the time since my mission in Myanmar, my beard and mustache had grown. It wasn't Duck Dynasty, hillbilly American, but it was still pretty noticeable.

"Please do, though I personally don't mind it. Your facial hair makes you more… masculine *giggle* but anyways."

"*chuckle* I guess you're right, I do look older than what am."

"Masaya, even without your facial hair, you still look like a man of my age."

"I guess so, anyways was that it Sister?"

"Yes, please return to your desk."

I walked back to my desk when Rise asked me why I was called outside."

"Masaya, what happened? Did you get in trouble?"

"No, just a little notice to shave my facial hair." I left out the flirting as Rise was the jealous type and I need her as she's my only key to staying here, plus I owe her a debt and I needed to pay her back.

"Ah… I see, Vincennes doesn't have a rule against facial hair but you-"

"Practically have a full beard, yeah I kinda noticed."

"Of course you would. You basically know everything, I envy you in that way Masaya."

"Right, well class is about to start. We'll talk later, alright." With that the day went on as usual. Then at around 10:00 at night I got a knock on my door.

"Who the hell can that be?" I opened the door to see Chiho standing there, I asked her why she was here at this hour. "Chiho, this is a surprise. What do you need?"

"Uh… I was just wondering… if you had already hid your egg. I saw a lot of people hiding them around school today so that's why I came by to see if you hid yours."

 _This cheeky lass. Well I might as well play along, anything to get a little chuckle._

"You know what, I completely forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me Chiho, I'll be sure to hide it tomorrow." This was too good, Chiho was trying to dance with me. Obviously I played hard to get and it was working, had it not been for my acting skills I learned in training, I would've broke down laughing my arse off, but I held on and keep the conversation intact.

"That's good. Hey Masaya, would you want to help me find a place for my egg. I've only been here at Vincennes for two years so…"

"Chiho, why would you think I could help. I've been here for only a little more than a month. I'm still getting used to the school, hell I barely found out about the Cathedral."

"I-I just assumed you knew the entire landscape. You do have those cybernetic enhancements. Don't you have a enhanced scan feature or something?"

"Look. My enhancements are just prototypes so there still rather new and developing."

"That was my other question. Masaya, would you consider yourself a cyborg."

"…I am a biological human enhanced by cybernetics so to sum it up. I am a cyborg, and one of the first successful fully augmented humans. Unlike most of the other SPARTANs, I received state of the art enhancements, in part to keep me alive and to ensure that I... that I help the needy with manual labour."

"SPARTANs? Like the Ancient Greek warriors from Sparta? Why would they name a program like that after the feared Spartans?"

"The SPARTAN Project is a program that promotes cybernetic enhancements to those who have lost a limb in wars or to make people with disabilities like mental retardation function like you and me. It started around 4 years ago in America and it's gaining traction here in Japan." It was a lie. The true intent of the SPARTAN Project was to essentially create an army of cyborg super soldiers, of course most SPARTANs aren't as augmented as me, but as I said to Chiho, these cybernetic implants in me are keeping me alive."

 _You would be dead if it weren't for our prototype full body enhancement_. Those words always were at the back of my head. I was so close to death, but thanks to Colonel Yanase and Mr. Goldman I was "reborn" as a cyborg to protect the weak and to fight injustice.

"That's an amazing example of the benefits of the age of technology we live in today, a way for the unfortunate to function normally in a society. Anyways Masaya, please help me with egg."

"Uh… Yeah, I think it's better to have Rise or Ruriko help you out. Well have a good night, I'm gonna go to bed, see you tomorrow." I shut my door and thanks to my enhanced hearing I heard Chiho curse under her breath. " _That stupid glorified vending machine."_ I laughed it off and went to read some manga I bought while I snuck out of Vincennes when I got another knock. Using my SmartVision I saw Rise standing outside my door."

 _Jesus, these girls don't fuck around. All right, I'll play along with their little scheme._ I opened the door and Rise jumped in excitement and like Chiho had a hard time saying a word without stuttering.

"H-Hey M-Masaya, I-I was w-wondering if y-you already h-hid your e-egg."

 _My god this is to good, I should record this shit._

Rise said everything Chiho said, how she wanted to know if I hid my egg yet and if I could help her hid her's

"Please Masaya, I may have been here since Primary Course but I really need your help with this. Help me Masaya Okonogi, you're my only hope."

"Rise, I'm the last person that can help you out, I don't know this place at all, other that the gym, Maria Hall, and classrooms. Look I told Chiho earlier to ask Ruriko, maybe she'll know where to put it."

"But what about you, shouldn't you also ask?"

"I'm a very self-reliant person Rise, I'll find a spot tomorrow before the search. Well anyways I'll see you tomorrow, sorry I couldn't help you." I shut the door and heard Rise from outside. " _Drats, I was so close. *sigh* his voice makes me feel so flustered."_

"*snicker* Whew, this is too much fun, anyways back to my manga."

I read some more of my manga when someone knocked on my door for the third time this night. "*grunt* Who the bloody hell is at my door now". Getting fed up I swung the door open to see no one at eye-level, I was about to close the door when a petite voice caught my attention.

"Uh… I'm down here."

I looked down to see Konomi staring up at me, surprised I slightly crouch down to get to her height. "Hey pipsqueak, what's wrong? You finally gonna apologize to me for the shit you pulled two weeks ago."

"I don't intend to apologize to you. A devil like yourself should receive no sympathy from a warrior like me. Regardless, Okonogi tell me where you intend to hid your egg."

"I'm sorry you lost me after a while. What we're saying, I can't here you from up here."

"You jerk! I demand to know where your hiding your egg!"

She screamed as loud as she could, causing the girls around to check things out.

"'Masaya, are you doing unholy things to Konomi."

"Clear that thought love, now please go back to sleep."

" _Tsk… what a pain"_

"Konomi, I'm going to only say this once. Keep your bloody voice down!" I yelled the last part into her ear, safe to say it startled her. "Anyways, I'm not telling you where my egg is. Now please, go the fuck away." Before she had the time to react I slammed the door and she walked away, disappointing that I didn't give her my egg. _What is that lass planning?_ I thought about it, if she claimed to have hated me, then why would she go out of her way to demand my egg. "Maybe it was for Ritsuko's sake. I don't know, I don't care, all I know is I need to go to sleep."

I undressed and went to bed, anxious about tomorrows festival. _Shit, I don't know how to fucking dance. Well fuck me. Tomorrow night gonna be wreak. Why do I feel like someone's watching me?_

 **?'s POV**

"At that time… I was a fool. Being crippled by that bastard left me unable to steal his child. But I killed him all the same. As for his child, well he is dead now, and that cyborg-clone now thinks he's the real Masaya. If I had not taken Masaya Okonogi's body. If it wasn't for his blood which augments my vampiric powers. I couldn't have possibly made all of my recent plans possible. But still this body is like a bond between a parent and a child, It ties me to his clone, even with his cyborg body. He seems to not know of my existence, and of this power I've gained from taking the original's body. His draconic powers, It is the powers that are reaching out to his perfectly replicated copy. There are always advantages and disadvantages to everything. No matter, I will eliminate him. The Okonogi bloodline must be eradicated from this planet."

"Suzukaze, my most trusted servant. Are you in Pakistan yet?"

"Almost my Lord, myself and Mujihi are crossing the Indian-Pakistani border. The ISI unit will be there to discuss our arms agreement for their planned coup."

"Very well, when our little baby dragon gets there, make sure he suffers more than every pain he has endured in his life."

"Yes, my Lord."

"*evil laughter* Soon I will make you experience true hell, clone of Masaya Okonogi."

 **Masaya's POV**

 **May 4** **th** **, 2011**

 **0545 hrs**

I woke up around 5:45 in the morning to do my daily jog from the entrance of the school to the base of the mountain, I got back to my room about 30 minuets later, and as I was opening my door I sensed something. I activated my tactical visor and spun around to confront my assailant.

*whack* *snap*

Next thing I know I'm holding Konomi's wrist and her naginata was snapped in half with her holding the bottom half, and the blade end was on the floor. Since my visor only covered my cybernetic left eye, Konomi became visibly frightened as I stared her down. Trying to not make a scene, I calmly let go of her wrist and apologize yet scold her.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me to brake your naginata, although next time don't try to kill me. Am I clear!"

"…I-I will never bend to the will of the serpent, mark my words Okonogi. This is only the beginning, I'll protect my onee-sama to my very last breath, that's a samurai's duty."

"Hmph… you're no samurai." I said that scornfully when she shot back.

"And what are you! An assassin, ninja, mafia hitman?"

"I'm just a student."

"I find that hard to believe, no normal student has lightning fast reflexes or "cybernetic enhancements". I'll be going, I need to practice my sparring."

Konomi left and I walked outside to hide my egg, I scanned the whole area with my SmartVision to see any spots not already taken. I saw that no one hid their eggs in the cherry trees near the entrance of the school, I decided that I would put my egg there, I jumped onto the branch and placed my egg, when I saw a figure quickly turn the corner of the main building.

 _Huh… was someone watching me just now?_

 **Later that day**.

It was now noon and school let out early for the festival. As soon as the teachers opened the school building's doors, the students in an organized chaos scrambled across the entire perimeter of the academy. "Well this is something, I guess we can call this a success, wouldn't you say Masaya." Rise was thrilled to see Ruriko's plan work as all the girls ran laps across the school for their friends egg."I agree Rise, and it's all thanks to you and Ruriko."

"Well I can't take all the credit, you're the one who brought up Easter eggs in the first place." Rise was right, if it wasn't for my mother telling me how much she loved Easter as a kid, I wouldn't have known about it and our chances of winning would've been very low.

"I hope you find my egg Masaya, *cough* because I need to teach you how to dance properly."

"Well isn't that the fun part, finding someone's egg before some other bird does." Like yesterday, Rise and the others weren't even subtly with their desire to find my egg. I decided to look for an egg myself, practically every egg was gone until I used my SmartVision and found an egg hidden under some brush. "Hmm… looks like I found one, I wonder who's it is." I almost opened the egg right there but I held back as I didn't want to spoil the surprise. I walked back to check on my egg to see Konomi trying to climb the tree I left my egg in, reflexively I turn on my cloaking feature and watched as she tried to climb the tree.

 _This is bizarre, Konomi of all people wants my egg, maybe she was that figure that I saw earlier._

Eventually, Konomi made it up the tree and almost immediately went straight for my egg, though after she did, she just sat there like a statue on display. Snickering to myself I turned off my cloaking device and walked up in a playful tone.

"Having a little trouble up there love!"

I yelled up to her and she was shocked and almost fell but thankfully her grip on the branch was as tight as a vice.

"Masaya, what are doing!?"

"Just walking around when I saw you up there! You seem to be in quite the pickle up there!"

"This so embarrassing but I have to admit, I'm scared of heights! I'm a disgrace as a warrior!"

"Easy there love, don't worry, I'll go get a teacher, maybe they've got a ladder laying around!"

"Please hurry Masaya, I don't know how much longer I can hold on!"

*snap*

"Ahh!"

The branch Konomi was on was getting weaker and was beginning to fall off.

 _Shit, there's no time, I need to convince Konomi to jump to me._

"Konomi, I need you to jump!"

"What? You're insane, I'll die if I jump off!"

"No you won't! Don't worry I'll catch you!"

"I have a bad feeling about this, I don't know if I can Masaya!"

"I don't have time for this! It's simple, either you jump to me and I catch you, or you fall down and we'll have to scoop up your brains off the concrete, now for God's sake jump already! A warrior doesn't shy away to a challenge or to danger, they take them head on!"

"Y-Your right! A warrior doesn't shy away from adversity! Hmm …I-I can't, I'm too high up!"

"Konomi! For God's sake look me in my damn eyes, you have to trust me, now come on already and jump!

"D-Don't look me in the eyes! Ahh!"

"Shit, Konomi!" Due to Konomi's lack of understanding sexual intercourse and breeding, she freaked out and in her fit of fluster, she slid off the branch and was falling down onto the concrete floor. "Only one thing to do." I activated a feature in my cybernetics that boosted my reaction time, essentially slowing down time. I jumped up and caught Konomi in my arms before she landed face first onto the floor.

"Ah! Masaya, y-you saved my life."

"…I told you to jump, besides that was too reckless of you to climb that tree without someone there with you, and all this just for a stupid egg." I scolded her for her carelessness, as I made a promise to Colonel Yanase that I would protect his daughter. Even though she rubbed me the wrong way, I was bound to her by her father's wish, and as a debt being repaid. Just then I heard a click of a camera and Tamie's distinguishable voice.

"Wow, that was awesome Masaya, how did you do that?!"

"I-Uh… just got lucky." As I tried to deal with Tamie, Konomi was speechless in my arms until… Well you should know Konomi by now.

 **Now Playing: Track 13- Insanity- Princess Evangile OST**

"LET GO OF ME!" She yelled as loud as she can right into my right ear, thanks to my heightened hearing, her scream was basically amplified, I shot back, let go of her and angrily yelled. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you!?"

"I-I can't believe the serpent's body touched mine! I can feel a baby growing inside me! I've been seduced by the serpent's wicked sorcery! I need to go!"

With that Konomi ran off and left Tamie speechless and me enraged.

"*demonic voice* That dumb bitch. I'll make her rue the day she was born. *maniacal laugh*."

"Uh… you okay there Masaya? You sound different."

I was started to become overtaken by 'The Ripper' but I thankfully managed to fight off my lust for blood. "I'm fine Tamie, I just need a little breather. I'll go find the girls, they're probably at Maria Hall."

 **Now Playing:** I waved goodbye to Tamie and walked over to Maria Hall where Rise and the rest of the girls were. Since 'Woo with Oeuf' was basically over, the Red Rose society's idea was next. Keeping it simple, they decided to just have a lunch-in with freshly baked French bread and some black tea. I walked to the White Lily's table and sat down on an empty chair, the girls all interested to see who I got as my dance partner for tonight.

"So Masaya, did you find a egg?"

"Yeah, I found this one hidden under a patch of grass."

"I hate to ask but you don't happen to have a frog in your throat would you? Your voice sounds a little deeper and scratcher than usual."

"Yeah, my throat feels a little swollen, maybe some tea will help it feel better."

"Your voice sounds demonic if you ask me."

"Uh… Masaya where did you say you found that egg?"

Ritsuko came up to us after I told them where I found the egg, I checked her vitals and her heartbeat was steadily rising and her breathing was more frequent.

 _Could it be. Was it her egg I found?"_

"As I told the girls, I found this under a patch of grass behind the school, I wonder who's egg is this."

"I-I wonder as well. Ahem, anyways looks like your plan was a success Rise, I congratulate you and your team's work."

Ritsuko treated this election way differently from Marika and certainly Mitsuki, instead of using the popular 'American mudslinging' method, she ran her campaign with the utmost respect towards her opposition, I wish this was how politics would be. People with different views coming together for the better of the people, making compromises and always tying to finding middle ground. But sadly the real world is nothing like Vincennes, a bright and happy world inside a world riddled with death, war, and corruption. Even then, like an peach, this place has a sweet exterior, but a hard interior, A rich girl's paradise prison as I see it.

"I can't take credit for all this. The true heroes of today were Masaya and Ruriko. They were the ones to come up with game."

"Is that so? Well then, I congratulate you Masaya and you as well Ruriko."

"Oh my, It was nothing, though I do appreciate your comments."

"Ruriko's right, We just came up with something off the top of our heads. It was nothing special."

"I respect your modesty, but please feel free to treat this as a victory. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to be heading back to my table to discuss our agenda more."

With that, Ritsuko took her leave and myself and the girls finished our little meals. We all said goodbye to get ready for the dance tonight.

 **2 hours later**

*knock*

"Hmm… who can it be this time?" I heard a knock on my door, thinking it was Rise or Chiho I walked over to see the Chairwoman and Sister Mishima at my door holding a flashy white tuxedo.

"Salutations Masaya, we just need to quickly see if this tuxedo will fit you, we obviously have had no one of you height and physique here at Vincennes so we needed to be sure that we got one that fits you."

"That's fine Madame Chairwoman, I was wondering myself what I was going to wear so I appreciate the tux." The Chairwoman handed me the tuxedo and I went to the bathroom to change into it. I used a pocket mirror to look at myself as the bathroom mirror was still shattered from my hallucination. _Hmph… not bad._ I thought to myself, I walked out of the bathroom and stood in front of the two women and they both expressed their approval.

"It looks very good on you Masaya."

"Heh… Thank you Sister Mishima."

"One more thing please use this." Sister Mishima handed me a can of shaving cream and a new razor, obviously she wanted me to shave before the dance so I went to the bathroom again to shave off my facial hair. I returned to my bedroom when the Chairwoman asked me a question.

"Masaya, you're last name is Okonogi correct."

"Yes ma'am. Why do you ask?"

"Are you related to a Ryosuke Okonogi by chance?"

"…He was my paternal grandfather, he passed away before I was born. Why are interested?" I asked her why she wanted to know I checked her record and it says the Chairwoman was born in 1947 making her around my grandfather's age, I was even surprised to find that Rise's surname Rousenin was maternal meaning she got it from her mother and grandmother. "You knew him when he was young?"

"Yes… I meet him my third year in Final Course, in 1965. I was 18 years old while he was just shy of being 20. I remember he came to Vincennes to deal with a hostage situation, he and at the time the Crown Prince Hideki, who of course is the emperor now. I was held at gun point by a mafioso when you grandfather shot him in the legs. He saved me and from that point on I became infatuated with him, my handsome knight in shining armor, his hair was as blue as the midnight sky and his voice was as soothing as yours but with a distinguishable German accent, his eyes, as green as-.

 _This is getting out of hand._ "*snap* Oi, Madame Chairwoman, your getting too much into the story." I snapped my fingers to get her attention, it was clear that she never really moved on from my grandfather as she started giggling like a schoolgirl, it was like was reliving her time as a student nearly 50 years ago.

"Well anyways, I'm now married and have a daughter and granddaughter, it's just that you remind of Ryosuke or should I say General Okonogi."

"I was wondering, Rise seems to very much look up to you, but what about her mother or father? Are they even in the picture, or is Rise like me, an parentless child."

"…Rise's mother, my daughter. She's been in the hospital for almost 7 years, she was admitted because of an illness that she developed sadly after Rise was born." I listened to the Chairwoman explain why Rise sees her as a role model. As she continued I began to have sympathy for both her and Rise.

"And what of her father? Is he dead or estranged?"

"Rise's father is a busy man. He rarely has time to come from the business district of Tokyo to here in Tsurugigoaka. But he still very much cares for Rise when he can." I understood what the Chairwoman was saying. Tsurugigoaka was on the outskirts of the Chiyoda ward, the closest city being Akihabara so it was no surprise that Rise's father wouldn't be able to come often.

"It's a shame but at least she's has a family." I couldn't help but envy Rise, to have these problems and still find happiness and optimism.

"I know that you've had a rather unpleasant life but please know that I'll try to make your time here at Vincennes a good one." She smiled at me, she reminded me of my great grandmother Elsa who was 80 when she passed away 9 years ago. It gave me a sense of happiness, an emotion I thought was kicked out of me.

"Thank you Madame Chairwoman, you're a very sweet lady. And me and Rise won't let you down."

"I know you won't, Rise is a headstrong girl and you are a stoic and self-reliant man. Together you two could win this election."

After putting the finishing touches on my tuxedo, the Chairwoman and Sister Mishima left me in my room until the dance started.

 **Rise's POV**

 **2100hrs**

 **Vincennes Athletics Gymnasium**

 _Where is he? I hope he liked the tuxedo I picked for him._

"Hey Rise, where's Masaya? Everyone but him is here."

"I'm sure he'll be here. This isn't required but he did express some desire to participate."

"Maybe's he's in his bathroom working on his hair… What?! Any guy as handsome as Masaya must spend hours on his hair and face."

Chiho and Tamie were just as concerned as I was, after all the Soirée Dasante was one of the best festivals of the year, hardly anyone has ever not been to it yet Masaya seemed to not care. I was afraid he'd just stayed at the dorms and spend his night alone.

*doors open*

"Hello there girls."

"Masa… oh my Lord…"

Masaya entered the gym in his white tuxedo, his hair was as unkept as usual but I wasn't complaining. He looked like a modern-day Prince Charming and he finally shaved his facial hair. Just the sight of him was enough to almost make me faint, I wasn't alone, Chiho and Tamie were staring as were the girls around the door.

 **Masaya's POV**

I walked into the gym to see every girl in there staring at me. Unlike normal school hours, these stare didn't seem malicious but rather astonishment. Then I saw Rise standing near the left wall in a fancy pink dress that had left a bit of cleavage, she looked like a Disney princess.

"My, my. Rise you look rather beautiful tonight." I took her hand and kissed her hand in a rich person gesture I always saw in the movies, being honest I felt a little embarrassed. This was my first ball and I'd never danced in my life prior to the Soirée Dasante.

"Masaya. I'm so glad you showed up."

"Hello Ruri- my god…" I saw Ruriko in her dress which left a lot to the imagination. To say the least she was a 'well endowed' girl and her breast cleavage was basically poring over the top of her dress.

"Attention students. It's time for the Woo with Oeuf dance to start. Please line up against the wall, first up will be 3rd year Finale Course."

"So, this is going by class until we get the end of Intermediate Course."

"I guess so. I wasn't the one who planned the schedule for tonight."

"I'm gonna go get a drink…" I walked over to the snack table to get some fruit punch and some sugar cookies when I heard someone behind me.

"Yo, do you mind if I dance with you?" I turned around to see a voluptuous light blue haired beauty standing behind me. She had a sultry air around her, like a predator finding her next prey.

"I-Uh… I guess we can, I mean isn't this the whole point of this party." Before I knew it, me and this girl were dancing to a waltz preformed by the school's own symphony orchestras band.

 **Now Playing: Track 7- Strauss/Frülingsstimmen, Waltz Op 410.**

 **Princess Evangile OST**

"My, my. For a guy claiming this is his first time dancing, you know your way pretty well."

"Heh, well humans adapt and overcome obstacles when they need to. I had to watch videos on how to dance just to make sure I didn't step on anyone's toes." I was dancing with this girl, in my embarrassment I wasn't able to scan her face without looking like a bleeding pervert so I still didn't know who exactly was this girl. _She, looks a little like Ritsuko, maybe it's the eyes, although Ritsuko has red eyes, this girl has purple ones. Get it together Masaya, just run a bio scan and be done with it._ I lowered my tactical eyepiece to scan her face, like I said before, my tactical eyepiece was just a eyepiece that went over my left eye, it had three red LED lights in the centre arranged in a upside-down triangle. Let's see here.

 _Ayaka Kitamikado_

 _DOB: 7/31/93_

 _Age: 17_

 _Height: 5ft 7in_

 _Weight: 125Ib_

 _Blood type: A+_

 _Occupation: Unemployed(Student)_

 _Parents: Misako Kitamikado, the headmistress obviously and Seiji Kitamikado, owner of Pappatore Moonrock._

 _Siblings: Ritsuko Kitamikado(1995-)_

 _So this is Ritsuko's sister. Looks like Ritsuko got the shit end of the stick when it came to the 'holy essentials'._

"Well aren't you a quiet guy. My name's Ayaka Kitamikado, class 3-D, you're Masaya Okonogi of class 2-C obviously.

"Uh… yeah, that's me alright." _Out of all the things they taught me, they never taught me how to properly handle a 'big' woman._

"Hey no need to be shy, I know you like the view from up there, I'm not ashamed to admit I got huge tits. E-cups to be exact." She whispered that last part in my ear.

 _Is this really Ritsuko's sister? Better question is is this really the headmistress' daughter? There all poler opposites, Ritsuko is quiet an petite, the headmistress is controlling, then Ayaka is voluptuous joker, kinda like a female Yusuke._

"What's wrong Masaya, are you not enjoying this?"

 _Jesus, don't start with that cute shit._ Ayaka made a fake pouty face, I couldn't take anymore, I was waiting for the waltz to finally be over.

 _Kill. Kill. Kill. KILL!_

"*grunt* Not again…" The Ripper was starting to take over again, I needed away out before I end up hurting Ayaka or any of the other girls.

"Aw… the music stopped. Well then, I guess is goodbye Masaya Okonogi."

Ayaka was walking back to the wall, purposely swaying her hips as she walked, she then turned around and lightly spanked her arse. "*giggle* I know, you want it, Massie boy."

 _Jesus, that's one dangerous bird. She is quite the beauty though._

"*cough* Care to explain what 'getting a drink' means in British slang, Masaya."

"*groan* Look, I'm sorry Rise. She pulled me into it, that wasn't my idea."

"Sure, whatever you say, Mr. Casanova."

"Okay everyone, next up is the 3rd year Intermediate Course."

 _Brilliant, now for the bloody chihuahua to scream in my ear while we dance._

I already knew that Konomi had my egg, I was mentally preparing myself for whatever she had under her sleeve.

"Uh… are you ready Okonogi."

"Hmm… Uh, what the bloody hell are you wearing?"

"It's my battle gear. It will deflect your sorcery and evil charms, so don't bother trying to seduce me."

 _My god, this is gonna be a long dance._

The music started and we started to dance. I was basically dragging Konomi as she was as frozen as a popsicle in an Antarctic blizzard. "Konomi, are you alright? You're basically not moving on your own."

"He will not defeat me. I have my battle gear on, I will never submit to the serpent. I... will... not… submit…"

The next thing I know, Konomi collapses on my tux and faints. "Oi, Sister. We've got a girl down over here! I called Sister Mishima over to take care of Konomi.

"She'll be fine Masaya, this happens every year at least once. Some girls here can be so flustered, they literally faint."

"That's something. Thanks again Sister, I know Konomi can be a handful."

"Think nothing of it Masaya, I probably would do the same if I danced with you."

"Does every conversation we have need to include a tease?"

"What, everyone here is no fun. You're the only person I can do this with."

"Well I should head back. Last thing I need is for Rise to bloody this nice tuxedo.

"*giggle* She is rather feisty, isn't she."

"No kidding, you never know with that girl." I walked back to the girls and I explained why Konomi faintied.

"Well, that can't be helped. She is a rather jumpy person."

"Yeah, don't take it to heart Masaya, okay."

"Next up is 2nd year Final Course."

"Well, time to see what lass has the misfortune to dance with me." I opened my egg after hours of pondering whose it was, to my surprise the name inside it read.

 _Ritsuko Kitamikado_

"What?!"

"Who did you get Masaya?"

"I got… Ritsuko."

"Wow, our cyborg Prince Charming dancing with the beautiful Briar Rose. Now that's a nice headline."

"Well then, I should go to Ritsuko then. Excuse me." I walked over to where the 1st years were. Every girl was staring at me and Ritsuko was trying to maintain her cold exterior.

"I guess you know what's coming, huh?"

"Yes… please be gentle, I've never danced with a man of your size before."

"Ha… You've never danced with a man period." I took her hand and proceeded to the center of the court and started the waltz. Like with Konomi it was a little awkward as I stood almost a foot taller than Ritsuko.

"Listen Masaya, I want to apologize for earlier."

"For what?"

"My sister, I know she approached you and you were forced to dance with her. She's always known for breaking rules."

"Hey don't think that you have to apologise for your sister. I know your supposed to be the responsible one, but remember you're still young, loosening up a little and live a little."

"*sigh* It's not that easy, my mother is a busy person and I need to make sure my sister stays away from trouble."

"I know, but being a teenager is a experience unlike when you are a small child. Of course I can't speak for myself, but my life isn't exactly 'normal '."

"You're a mysterious person Masaya, but a wise man at the same time. I envy your wisdom and your independence."

"Yeah, most silver spoon kids have problems with independence and knowledge outside of school. But that's why there's blokes like me who have gained knowledge from experience and have a sense of independence. I don't know the high-rise life, with butlers and maids doing my chores and me not having to work a day in my life. Being honest I don't want that life, I don't think I can, this world seems to enjoy my suffering.

"Masaya…"

"Look like the song's over. I'll see you later Ritsuko."

"Right. Salutations Masaya." I left for the area that me and the girls usually hang out. I decided to take a break as I had danced with three girls back to back with no break in between. I was sitting down when I got a call from Yanase.

"Masaya, I need you to report to the Hiryu ASAP."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I'll explain in the briefing. Sergeants Kaido, Haruzuko, and Yamato are already here. There's a helicopter at the base of the mountain. I'll see you aboard Sergeant."

"I-*click* tsk… fuck."

I walked out the gym and went to my dorm, grabbed my armour and snuck out, I didn't even bother getting out of my tuxedo.

"Welcome aboard Sergeant. Don't worry we'll get you to the Hiryu as fast as we can."

"Thank you Lieutenant. I appreciate the ride." I boarded the helicopter and sat down next to the minigun, looking down at Vincennes and the city."

 **IJN Hiryu**

 **Tokyo Bay, Yokosuka, Japan**

The helicopter touched down and like before Yanase was waiting for me but also I saw Mr. Goldman.

 _Mr. Goldman? What's he doing here._

"Welcome back Masaya, before we go below deck, Mr. Goldman has something to say."

"Thank you Colonel. Well, it's been a while Masaya. My you're looking flashy. How's that arm?"

"Good sir, I feel like I've gotten used to my augmentations."

"That's splendid! Well, I have something for you but I think you should here your briefing first."

"Thank you sir. Now come with me Sergeant."

"Of course sir." I followed Yanase downstairs and meet up with my squad.

"Hey, how's it been Mas, you're looking like you just had a date with a rich girl."

"Hello Yusuke. Well our school had a dance and I couldn't change out in time."

"Alright men cut the chatter, you need to hear this briefing." Yanase turned on a projector and inserted a disc into the computer. We saw some Japanese soldiers on the ground and Sakamoto watching over them with a guy who looked like me. He had a sword that glowed a menacing shade of red.

"Known only as Mujihi. Our undercover agent with the Yokosuka Mafia shot this in a remote area in Hokkaido. Ukyo!"

 _Looks like he became an undercover agent to keep his end of our little promise._

"Thanks Colonel. Mujihi is Sakamoto's number two. As his name implies he is Sakamoto's merciless blade for hire."

"We were told by Ukyo that Sakamoto and Mujihi are in Pakistan for unknown reasons. Whatever it is, it can't be good. I need you four to investigate.

"Colonel haven't we lost some planes over Pakistan in the past week."

"Wait a minute Yusuke, the scientist we met in Myanmar told us that Sakamoto is developing a cyber weapon called Sabre. What if it's Sabre taking out our scout planes.

"This Mujihi guy can be fairly entertaining."

"Fairly."

"Hey Mas, I got an idea. Let's blow off a little steam, why don't you get out of your princess dress and throw some punches.

"I'm afraid Masaya can not, Sergeant Kaido."

"Why's that sir?"

"I need to borrow you squad leader, I have some upgrades that I need to implement."

"Mr. Goldman is right. Sergeant Kaido while Masaya stays behind for his surgery, you'll lead the squad."

"Mr. Goldman if I may ask. What exactly do you mean by surgery?"

"My company's R&D department has finished our first non-prototype cyborg enhancements. I've brought my best surgeons to conduct this operation. If this briefing is over Colonel, I will take Masaya over to the operating table."

"Yusuke, I'm trusting you with this. Please don't kill my squad by the time I get there."

"Don't worry Mas, you can count on me. Alright guys let's get to the chopper. See you on the other side Mas."

"Right." Yusuke and the team walked out and left me with Yanase and Mr. Goldman.

"Okay Masaya, come with me. We'll get started on the surgery." We walked over to the sick bay and I laid down on a patients chair. Mr. Goldman's surgeons all surrounded me.

"Now Masaya, this will only hurt for a second."

 **Yanase's POV**

The surgeons gave Masaya a shot that put him to sleep. I was concerned, but I knew this new body Goldman developed would greatly improve Masaya's physical abilities.

"Don't worry Colonel. This standard cyborg body will give Masaya powers that no man has ever harnessed. Oh and be sure to give him this when he wakes up."

Goldman gave me a sheathed sword that resembled a katana. "What exactly is this for?"

"It's a high-frequency blade. This sword is strong enough to cut through almost anything."

"It looks like a normal steel katana to me."

"The blade vibrates at an intense speed, strong enough to complete disorganize a solid object molecule bond." I unsheathed the sword. When I got it out of the sheath, it began to glow a shade of blue much like Yuuji's sword all those years ago.

"This is quite the weapon, Mr. Goldman. Though I don't think Masaya will have the skill to wield this on the field just yet. He's never held a sword before."

"All you need is a little bit of VR and this new cyborg body, he'll be a skilled swordsman by tomorrow."

"I hope so. Speaking of which, do you know what happened to his human body?"

"It's being preserved in one of my laboratories in America. We used it to form the artificial skin and organs for his cyborg body."

"You used his body's DNA to essentially clone him?"

"No. We may have used the Germans cloning techniques but all we did was make artificial skin and organs."

"*sigh* I hope I never have to tell him that his body isn't his original birth one."

"I agree, he's a very unstable person. Wasn't he a very shy kid growing up."

"Yes, Elizabeth always told me he was shy yet a very kind a sweet kid. I guess all that changed after she divorced Shinya."

"Well, people change. I just hope he is still mentally sane to fight."

"…Yeah, sure."

"Well, I must be going. Make sure you give that sword to him, and run him through as many VR missions as possible. This a good soldier we have here. Farewell Colonel."

 _He's more than a toy soldier for you to play with, you bastard."_

 **That concludes Chapter 6 of this story, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Be sure to stay tune for Chapter 7: Pakistan Storm. Until next time, please give me any feedback, I'll greatly appreciate it. If you have any questions about the story please PM me. – Shepherds12**


	8. Chapter 7: Pakistan Storm

**Chapter 7: Pakistan Storm.**

 **May 6** **th** **, 2011**

 **1425hrs**

 **Near Lahore, Pakistan**

 **Yusuke's POV**

We landed near Lahore, Pakistan. The weather was piss poor to be honest, our original plan was to land in Lahore but the weather caused us to land a couple miles away. "Goddammit Mas. When are gonna get here?" I was standing by waiting for Colonel's order to move out. I hadn't heard anything regarding Mas' surgery and I never had lead a squad until now.

"Sergeant Kaido, this is Colonel Yanase. This mission is ago, move out into Lahore. Keep you weapons on safety, you don't want to frighten the locals."

"Colonel, when is Mas- Sergeant Okonogi getting here?"

"Sergeant Okonogi is on his way. He left a couple hours ago from the Hiryu. He'll be there shortly."

"What do you think they did on the Sarge."

"They probably did some maintenance on his cybernetics. What do you think they did Sergeant Kaido."

"That American business guy mentioned upgrades. Maybe he got better enhancements." We were clueless about why exactly Mas was pulled aside for that surgery. "Anyways guys, we need to move. Colonel's ordered we go into Lahore. Most people evacuated after a flash flood warning was issued but there are probably still the impoverished and looters around."

"Sergeant, what exactly are we here for besides Sakamoto and Mujihi?"

"Ah.. I don't know Yama. I guess to see what the hell he's doing in Pakistan in the first place." I couldn't tell why exactly we were here besides the fact that Sakamoto plus anything equalled bad news.

"I've heard that some ISI leaders have had a distaste for the new prime minister Pakistan elected."

"So… I guess it means that Sakamoto is trying to influence people within the Pakistani government to instigate a coup and overthrow the prime minister. That sounds like something Sakamoto would do."

"There is more to the story than that Sergeant Kaido."

"Who said that? Was it you Haru?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Than who did?"

"It was I. Surely you all remember me." The mysterious voice revealed himself to be.

"Takashi?! What are you doing here in Pakistan." Takashi followed us to Pakistan like he did back in Myanmar. This guy was more mysterious than Mas, and that was saying a hell of a lot. "So, what exactly is the full story then. You know a lot of shit that's yet hasn't happened yet. Like how you predicted the Chinese invasion of Afghanistan."

"I will explain later, you need to get out of here. This place is controlled by the ISI."

*gunshot* "It appears we have some Japanese visitors, what exactly do you want here."

"Woah, take it easy. My name is Sergeant Yusuke Kaido of the 1st Imperial Commando Regiment, were here to investigate a terrorist named Suzukaze Sakamoto we-"

"Yusuke, Look out!" Takashi jumped in front of me and pulled out his sword. The blade emitted a green glow as Takashi deflected a sniper bullet aimed right at me. "Jesus, that was close. Thanks Takashi."

"You can thank me later! Now get out of here!"

"What about you! You're not seriously gonna take them all on." I was worried. Takashi was a good soldier, but one guy with a sword vs guys with assault rifles. The odds didn't seem fair at all.

"Don't worry about me, Masaya is just about here by now!"

"Kill that masked swordsman!" The ISI soldiers started shooting at Takashi. The guy deflected every bullet with his sword, at the same time his hair started to turn white and his hand started to give off electric sparks along with a barely audible crackle.

"Who is this man! Everyone cease fire!" The soldiers stopped shooting and stared at Takashi. Then he lifted his blade and shot bolts of lightning out of his hand into the blade, now his hair was fully white, his midnight blue hair was completely gone, it looked like he was charging up some sort of attack.

"He's open. All troops, use every bullet to kill that man!" The soldiers fired at Takashi again, however the bullets stopped and floated next to Takashi.

"What the hell?!"

"Hmph… take this! Lightning Overdrive!"Takashi flipped the bullets to face the soldiers and telepathically shot them back, at the same time unleashing a powerful bolt of lightning from his sword, killing all the soldiers in one move.

"Holy shit! What the hell was that!" I was surprised, no normal human being was capable of doing what Takashi did, with the bullet deflection and lightning sword attack.

"Stay on your guard, Sergeant Kaido. The enemy has soldiers crawling all over the place. We need to move, your mission in Lahore still needs to be completed." Takashi took us out of the small village and we were almost at Lahore when I finally asked him a question.

"Hey Tak, what's the big deal? How do you know so much about events that haven't happened yet?"

"Sergeant Kaido have you ever heard of the saying 'Those who don't understand history tend to repeat it.' It basically means that people have forgotten the past, more specifically the rise of dictators and ultranationalism in the 1920's and 30's that resulted in World War II. Think about it, the current war in Europe is an exact repeat of the last Great War, 70 years ago. If you know your history, you should know that there was also a war in the Pacific that was fought between The United States and Japan. So connect the dots, Sakamoto plans to start a war in the Pacific, however this time Japan will be completely obliterated by both America and China. You do remember that the last war ended in a ceasefire after the stalemate at Okinawa."

"Yeah, thanks to the valiant bravery from Mas' great grandfather Ryuuji Okonogi. He led the last remnants of the Japanese army at Okinawa and successfully repealed the American siege on Naha."

"That was nearly 70 years ago. A lot has changed in these seven decades, alliances have shifted. What were once allies are now bitter enemies and vice versa."

"So what exactly does Pakistan have to with this? They've declared neutrality in the war in Europe."

"All will be explained in time, Sergeant Kaido."

"Shit! We've got contact! ISI closing in!"

"Huh… oh shit! There's too many, and they got tanks! We need to get out of here! Yamato, Haruzu- what the?!" I saw a figure standing on the roof of a house. It was wearing a black leather trench coat, then a cloud covered the sun and the figure was revealed to be. "Mas?!"

 **15 minutes earlier**

 **Masaya's POV**

 **Over Lahore, Pakistan**

I was aboard a Navy G4M 'Hamaki' bomber smoking a cigarette, getting ready for my jump. I brought my coat and I was holding onto this sword that Yanase gave me after I woke up from the surgery. Maybe it was the upgrades, but I felt taller, more flexible, and nimble. I was given VR training with the sword and Yanase was impressed with my performance, and then I was sent to meet up with Yusuke who made it into Pakistan last night.

"Lieutenant, this is Colonel Yanase. Weather conditions are getting worse, drop off Sergeant Okonogi 2 clicks south of the city."

"Roger that. Navigator, go tell the commando to get ready! We're opening up the bomb bay doors! We're dropping him 2 clicks from the original objective.

"Yes sir!"

I was sitting next to the waist gunner's position when the gunner tried to spark a conversation. "So, where are you from, sir."

"I'm a Sergeant, not a officer."

"I know, but you're a commando. You're automatically higher up on the chain of command than most infantry sergeants."

"I see… Tsurugigoaka. I was born in Tokyo and raised in Tsurugigoaka."

"Tsurugigoaka huh? I had a buddy of mine's girlfriend go to school there. She attended some rich all-girl charm school there. What was it called again? Vince- I don't know some French sounding school that's like over a hundred years old.

"Vincennes Private Girls Academy… I know all about it."

"You have a girlfriend that attends it or like your mom?"

"No, I do. I'm attending Vincennes as a second year student right now."

"Tsk… you're fucking with me. No guy can attend Vincennes, they don't call it an all-girls school for nothing."

"Uh… Sergeant Okonogi, pilot's telling you to get ready for your jump. And put out that cigarette if you please

"Thank you Corporal, well I guess we'll have to drop this conversation. I walked over to the centre of the bomber with the navigator and he opened the bomb bay doors.

"Okay let's run a little checklist before you jump! Okay, parachute secure?!"

"Parachute secured!"

"Emergency chute secure?!"

"Emergency chute secured!"

"Lastly, weapons and gear secure?!"

"Weapons and gear secured!"

"Alright that's that, we're ready for your jump. Good luck down there sir. And for the last time, please put out that cigarette." The navigator went back to his position and left me in the bomb bay. Seeing my target, I took a deep breath, threw my cigarette down the doorway, flipped on my tactical eyepiece and jumped down into the sky below the plane. The winds were strong at the altitude I was, so I couldn't open my right eye. The sky around me was one of the most beautiful things I had seen. I was getting close to my drop point, so I released my parachute to stop my free fall, then I saw something in the corner of my eye. It was a sudden flash on the ground below. "Hmm… what the hell was that?" I bended my knees to prevent my legs from potentially breaking, then I hit the ground and fell to the floor, the parachute started to drag me but I cut myself loose.

"Whew, that was something. Let me radio in to Yanase." I turned on my portable radio and contacted Yanase. "Colonel, this is Sergeant Okonogi. I've just landed on the ground. What's my next objective?"

"You're objective is to meet up with Sergeant Kaido and the rest of your squad. From there you will proceed into Lahore and infiltrate Anthems, a castle inside the city, remember this is a sneaking mission, we're here to find out exactly why Sakamoto is here in Pakistan and his connections to the Chinese government. Lethal force is authorised but try not to engage the enemy if you can."

"Roger that sir, I'm going to meet up with Yus- Sergeant Kaido right now." I walked from the drop point to a small village on the outskirts of the city when I saw Yusuke and my squad running from an enemy force. _Who can that be?_ I scanned on of the enemy and saw it was an ISI unit, not one of Sakamoto's private army units. _Wait a minute, is that Takashi with Yusuke?_ I climbed onto a roof and watch them run into the village. I unsheathed my sword and stood up when Yusuke called out my name.

 **Yusuke's POV**

 **Now Playing: White Blood- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots OST**

I called out to Mas and he looked my way. He then lifted a sword that glowed blue and signalled me to stay away. He then jumped from the roof to the ground, looking at his sword. "When the hell did Mas get that sword?"

"It's a high frequency blade, it has enough power to cut through almost anything. Now come on, Masaya can handle them." Takashi was leading us away from the ISI soldiers when Mas jumped into the air and started to fight off the soldiers. I was in awe, his movements were all over the place, he'd preformed flips and deflected bullets with his sword. He jumped onto a tank and sliced the command hatch in two and killed the crew in the tank, he threw his sword into the ring that connected the tank's body and its turret, he then ran up to it and separated the tank's turret and the body. Another tank tried to run him over, Mas just stood there and sliced the whole tank in half when it ran into Mas' blade. After all that Mas wipped the blood and oil from his sword and sheathed his sword, retracting his eyepiece he finally said a word since we met up.

"Takashi, it's my turn to protect you." More soldiers appeared and Mas got into a fighting stance. Then what I assumed was the commander of the unit walked up to Mas, the soldiers tied him up and I heard the commander talk.

"What exactly is this… boy doing here in such war zone."

"This is the one who decimated our unit sir, my guess is that he's some sort of robotic ninja. He looks like he could be from the Americans CIA or the British MI6."

"Hmm… but his comrades are Japanese, the Americans and the Japanese are at odds right now. But we'll make him talk." The commander pulled out a tactical knife and traced a line across his armor and stabbed him right in the chest, Mas just scoffed as if it was nothing. "Shit! Haru, give me your gun." I grabbed Haruzuko's M4 and aimed the rifle at the commander's head.

"Are you… immortal?"

"Hmph… No, I just don't fear death."

*gunshot*

I shot one of the ropes tying Mas up. He grabbed his sword and started to attack the soldiers until it was just him and the commander.

"Hmph… you're pretty good. Have at you, ninja!"

"Okay… Let's fight!"

Mas ran towards the commander and started swinging his sword, but the commander was fast, he dodge Mas' swings. The commander started throwing knives at Mas but he deflected them with his sword. The fight seemed like an eternity as metal clashed together as Mas and the commander were essentially performing a graceful dance as they fought. Eventually Mas threw his sword at him and fought with a tactical knife, he then grappled his sword and spun around with the knife connected to his boot, the commander saw an opportunity and kicked Mas and started to stab him in the chest, Mas got up and started swinging his sword while flipping around, as this happened the blue color on Mas' sword because red hot from the friction, it was so bad, smoke visibly was being let out. After that the commander jumped behind Mas and put him in a headlock. _Shit! Come on Mas, you can do it!"_ I was surprised what Mas did next. Knowing he was in a headlock, Mas turned his sword towards his stomach area and rammed the blade through him and getting the commander behind him. They struggled for bit before Mas got away and plunged his sword through the commander.

"So… you're the one Sakamoto warned about, ha ha… that little rat knew this would happen." The commander let go of Mas and collapsed on the ground, Mas wiped the blood off his sword and put it back in it's sheath.

*pant* *pant* "Ugh…". The next thing I know Mas collapsed on the floor, we rushed to him to check his wounds. Takashi was the most concerned with Mas' safety.

"We need to get him to safety. The ISI will be sending everything they have just to have us all killed. Sergeant Kaido, get his other arm!" Takashi quickly him inside one of the houses and cleared the table, all that time Mas was coughing blood and groaning in pain. "Yamato, how's Mas holding up?"

"Not good Kaido. He lost a lot of blood out there."

"Sergeant Yamato, let me take care of this." Takashi went up to Mas and started to mend his wounds with some sort of mystic power.

"How the hell are you doing that?!"

"…A technique I learned. My aunt was a holy mystic, she would be a medical consultant for my mother and father."

"So you actually have parents. I guess that would explain those things attached to the hilt of you sword." Takashi sword was a fancy, ancient looking katana, he had two strings of beads that had the Christian cross at the end.

"Yes… these rosaries were a gift from them. My only possession that I cherish…"

"You seem to love them a lot. Where are they?"

"…Dead, my father died in the Soviet-Japanese War when I was around 8 and my mother died of a disease when I was 18 years old. I spent my youth in Japan, but after my father died, my mother moved us to America, where I lived until I came back to Japan after my mother died." Takashi finished mending Mas' wounds. I was still wondering how exactly he was able to do a those flips and survive all those knife stabs.

"Hey Tak, I was wondering. How did Mas survive those stabbings when he was fighting that commander?"

"*sigh* Listen carefully Yusuke, this is something even Masaya does not know. Your friend and squad leader's body is… artificial. It's the first non-prototype standard cyborg body. Masaya was essentially killed in that ship incident a couple months ago, however he was revived and reborn with a cyborg body, the one he just had replaced."

"So that surgery was for… giving him a new body. Jesus Christ he really has been to hell and back." Takashi pulled out a syringe that was filled with a liquid. "Hey, what is that?"

"It's just a adrenaline shot, you need your commander awake right. Don't worry this form has no side effects, so he shouldn't collapse from a crash." Takashi injected the shot right into Mas' neck and within seconds Mas was awake.

 **Masaya's POV**

I woke up after I collapsed from my fight with that ISI commander. I saw my squad and Takashi all around me. I tried to get up but my muscles ached really bad.

"Careful Masaya, the shot still needs to kick in fully."

"Ugh… why are you even here Takashi?"

"I've come to explain to you what exactly you're mission means to the future."

"Yanase told me we were going to investigate, what else do we need to know?"

"Masaya, are you aware of the recent election for prime minster of Pakistan?"

"Not that much, just that the bloke elected is a reformist, he campaigned on making more lenient laws regarding gender roles. Naturally Islamic fundamentalist across everywhere in the Middle East want him dead."

"You're on the right track. The new prime minister is in every way a Islamic liberal. After years of conservative Muslims in power, the people of Pakistan want someone with no connections to the Saudi royal family or to the military. The people also want to make peace with their eastern neighbor, India. That is something every hardcore militant in Pakistan hates, including one General Amir Hussain, one of the two Deputy Director-Generals of the ISI. He is the man Sakamoto is meeting with to discuss an arms agreement, Sakamoto will supply Hussain's planned coup of the current Pakistani government, he sets up a military junta, in exchange Pakistan will declare war on India. I'm sure we're all well aware of the fact that both Pakistan and India possess nuclear weapons, so if the coup succeeds, than we're looking a potential nuclear war between Pakistan and India which could leave the Middle East a pile of ashes."

"Where does this involve China or Japan, even the U.S?"

"Remember Masaya, Sakamoto is trying to manipulate governments and people across the world. His ultimate plan is to destroy Japan, but that doesn't mean he doesn't also wants the rest of the world to burn, Sakamoto is a ruthless man. He'll make the whole world burn just as long as he destroys everything gran- I mean your uncle loved."

"Come out into the open. If you don't comply, we'll use lethal force.

"Shit! Masaya, take your men and get out of here. Here's the coordinates to the castle. Good luck and watch out for Mujihi, he's the most skilled assassin in Sakamoto's army." Takashi gave me a map with a route drawn out. The castle was in the centre of Lahore so we had to basically go through the whole city.

"Alright then, men! Time to get the bloody hell out of here! Be safe Takashi."

"Don't worry about me Masaya. Now go! Finish your mission!" We snuck through a backdoor and ran out of the village. We kept running until the water reached our upper thighs.

"*pant* I think we lost them. They're probably busy with Tak. That guy is still a complete mystery, he makes you look like a guy with no secrets."

"Jeez, this whole city is flooded. I can't even see my boots in this water."

"Take it easy Yamato, would you rather be shot at by the ISI or have water to you thighs."

"Everyone quiet down! You all hear that." We heard voices from across the street. I activated my SmartVision to see enemy soldiers coming our way. "Shit! Everyone into this supply room!" I led the team into a local deli and hid in the meat storage room. Thankfully the power-grid to the entire city was down so we weren't freezing in the storage locker "They've stopped."

"Open fire on that deli."

The ISI soldiers started to fire at us. It must have been an entire platoon of UMP-45s because the bullets were endless. _Shit, this is not going to be easy mission._

 **Rise's POV**

 **Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **1100hrs**

I was sitting in class taking notes but today felt off. Masaya just disappeared like he did almost a month ago. He told me he worked part-time as security for a garbage disposal plant but that doesn't explain why he just left in the middle of the Soirée Dasante.

"Ms. Rousenin, do you know why Mr. Okonogi isn't in class today?"

"No Sister, he just vanished last night. I haven't seen or spoken to him since."

"Interesting, I'll notify the headmistress that Mr. Okonogi is skipping school today. That man, I swear what can possibly be so important for him to skip class again."

"Sister if I may, Masaya told me he still has a part time job. I think he's working today."

"Nothing is more important than education. Tsk… What does it matter, he's the definition of those in the 'lower world'. He's a beggar, street rat, gunslinger, but most of all, he's just a piece of scrap metal that belongs in a landfill away from civilization."

"He's more than what you'll ever be!" I yelled that without even thinking. I just felt so enraged because the teacher was insulting Masaya in front of us.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?!" I couldn't stand by and hear the teacher talk down on my friend, especially one as important to me as Masaya. He told me he lived his whole life being the world's punching bag. I felt pity for him, he never had the luxuries and privileges I had my whole life.

"Masaya is wonderful man. He's lived his whole life in debt and being abused by his father, but he still sees the good in people. Maybe not the world as a whole, but that doesn't stop him from trying to fit in to a society that rejects him."

"Ms. Rousenin! You of all people should know that you respect your elders. Hmph, I was right. You really do act like your mother did."

*gasp*

"I-I… Don't you ever mention my mother ever again!"

"Get out of my class and go to the headmistress' immediately. I swear that **machine** and your push for integration are going to be the death of Vincennes." I walked out of the classroom in a rage, how dare she insult both Masaya and my mother, I'm pretty sure if Masaya were here right now, he'd probably talk down on her like one of those American western gunslingers from the movies. "I hope Masaya's back soon, and I hope he's safe."

 **Masaya's POV**

 **Lahore, Pakistan**

"Shit! ISI got us pinned down!"

"Keep it together Yusuke! I have a plan!"

"Can you make it quick Sarge! I kinda don't want to die in a damn Pakistani meat locker."

"Ditto… I never thought I'd die in a fucking restaurant being shot at by some Islamic extremists all while my commander is fucking cyborg super soldier not doing jackshit right now!"

"Shut It Yusuke! Team! Get behind some boxes! I'm throwing a smoke!" I tossed a smoke grenade to distract the ISI, I turned on my SmartVision and picked off the soldiers one by one. "We're clear!" The rest of the squad exited the meat locker an we took a breather. Just then a patrol helicopter spotted us and started firing at us.

"Shit! Enemy chopper! One of these guys should have a RPG with them. Ah-ha a sniper rifle!" Yusuke took a Type 39 Arisaka bolt-action rifle with a sniper scope. He called me and handed the rifle to me. "You're the the regiment's top sharpshooter, Mas. You can hit the pilot and get us out of this mess. Don't worry, we'll draw their attention." I took the rifle and waited for Yusuke and the others to distract the helicopter. I peered my head and took aim at the cockpit, the pilot's head was in my crosshairs.

*gunshot* It was a direct hit in the pilot's forehead, blood splattered all over the glass. I pulled the bolt back and chambered another round and landed a headshot on the co-pilot. The helicopter spiralled into a building. "…Enemy helicopter down…" We walked out of the deli and discussed the ops plan.

"First, we get the bloody hell out of this area. Second is that Sergeants Haruzuko and Yamato will proceed to Anthems via rooftop while me and Sergeant Kaido proceed through the flood waters to the objective. Third is that as soon as we have our intel, we'll get to this designated LZ outside the city and be extracted out of Pakistan by helicopter. All that sink in?"

"Yes, Sergeant!"

"There they are! All units, open fire!"

"Fuck, there's still more of these bastards. Haruzuko, Yamato! Get up on the roof and hit them from above!"

"Roger that Sergeant! Come on Yamato!" Haruzuko and Yamato opened a garage and ran up to the roof. Meanwhile me and Yusuke fought our way through the flooded streets.

"Sergeant Okonogi, we've made it to the top of the building. We'll providence cover fire from up here."

"Roger that. Come on Yusuke, we need to get to the castle." Yusuke and I made our way through the rest of the street. We stopped because of a suspicious noise. "Shh! What the hell is that noise?" Then a passenger bus came hurdling towards us at a extremely fast pace.

"Aw shit! Mas, over here!" Yusuke pointed to a gate and we began to push it open. At first, it didn't budge but after a good couple of kicks, the gate flew open and we jumped in before the bus steamed rolled us.

"Oh fuck, that was close. Heh… still got my balls, how about you 'Pretty Boy'."

"Heh… just be glad you aren't dead. If any of us die, Pakistan's going to have no choice but declare war on Japan." We picked ourself off the floor and walked into an alleyway. When we entered there was people crowding behind some cardboard boxes. "Shit! We've got some civilians here. Yanase told me that most of the city evacuated, but I had hoped not to encounter any people that stayed behind."

"So what do we do Mas?"

"*sigh* Nothing… we can only get one helicopter in. We can't risk any more helicopters, the ISI most likely have SAM sites near here."

"Bullshit Mas! Is that what the radio operator told you when you were calling for help on that ship. 'Sorry we can't send in a helicopter, the Chinese have some RPGs.' These people need medical assistance or else they'll die, and unlike you they don't have some rich fuck who can turn into a cyborg." I looked at the civilians, it was a homeless family of six. A father, a mother, and their four children. All the kids were as skinny to the bone and the oldest was only 12 years old and the youngest was 2 years old. "*sigh* Alright, I'll call in a chopper, just let me check something. Haruzuko, are there any SAM sites nearby?"

"Negative, the area is completely clean."

"Good… Okonogi out. Command, this is Sergeant Okonogi, requesting a pick up helicopter at my exact coordinates."

"Roger that Sergeant. We have a destroyer in the Indian Ocean, we'll order them to send a Huey. ETA 20 minutes, command out."

"They're sending in a Huey. We'll have to sit tight until they get here. I really hope you know what your doing Yusuke." We waited for the helicopter to arrive, during that time I fed the kids some of my rations to give them some energy. It felt nice, I never had any siblings obviously, but at that moment it felt like I had little brothers.

"This is 'Kyushu'. We've arrived at the LZ, get those civies on board." We led the family to the helicopter and put them in it, as soon as the father got on the helicopter flew away before it can put the family in harms way.

"We did the right thing Mas."

"Yeah… I don't want anyone to suffer the way I have. Those kids have their whole lives ahead of them, I was deprived of that privilege."

"I get ya… I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do anything for those kids."

"*sigh* We need to move. Haruzuko and Yamato are probably close to Anthems now." We left the LZ and jumped from a building onto another road. Then I heard the sound of a helicopter. "A Hind-D! Yusuke get down!" We threw ourselves on the ground as the Hind started to patrol the street. We saw a team of looters with money from a bakery get spotted by the helicopter and were killed by the 12.7mm machine guns on the helicopter.

"Fuck… those Hinds are acting as death squads. They're executed any looters they find."

"And I'm pretty sure they're with the insurgents. Okay, here's the plan. We use the darkness to avoid being spotted." By the time we got to Lahore the sun had already set and the storm didn't help, so it was basically almost pitch black in the streets. We snuck around stores and vehicles, anything that could shield us from the Hind's spotlight.

"That's right you big dumb bastard, keep looking the wrong fucking way."

"Shut It Yusuke. The helicopter is patrolling the area behind us, but still keep to the ground, even if you got to swim through this water." We crawled our way into a destroyed building and made it to the castle's sewage system. There was only two soldiers patrolling the entrance."Yusuke, take that guy out, I'll get the other one." We killed the soldiers patrolling in one burst of our guns. We walked to one of the pipelines and I used my sword to slice the gate.

"Aw fuck, it smells like shit in there. *sigh* talk about a shit job, right Mas."

"No kidding, I'm gonna deactivate my scent sensors." I turned off my scent sensors to better focus on the mission and not the smell of shit in the pipe. It was a new feature that was included in the upgrades I received before this mission.

"Man, no fair. I have to smell this crap while you can just press a button and not smell a thing."

"Just shut up and suck it up Yusuke." We walked into the sewage pipe and trudged through sewage water and the countless amount of flies that buzzed all around us. We got to a door when we heard someone talking in Urdu.

"Mas, what are they saying?"

"Sakamoto gave the ISI a new state of the art jeep that the American military is still developing." The voices went away and we proceeded through the sewage. "Haruzuko, this is Okonogi. The ISI has some jeeps somewhere in the castle, keep an eye out for them. Okonogi out." We made it to the ladder of one of the manholes of the castle. "Yusuke wait. I'll contact Yanase, I'm gonna tell him we're at the objective." I turned on my radio and contacted Colonel Yanase. "Colonel, we've made it to Anthems."

"Well done Sergeant. I'm sending in your infiltration route, your task is to use your video recording feature to record any information that Sakamoto and the rouge ISI leader have. One more thing, the ISI have stepped up their helicopter patrolling near the castle. If that spotlight gets you, that 12.7mm will rip you to shreds. You can run, but you'll just die tired."

"If I choose to run Colonel. It'll be right at them."

"Right. Good luck Sergeant!"

"Come on Yusuke, let's get the bloody hell out of this shit hole."

"Ugh… you don't need to tell me twice Mas." We climbed the ladder and made our way into the castle's courtyard. "Hey Mas, this rooftop can give a good look at the meeting."

"Good thinking Yusuke. We'll use my grappling hook, hold on tight."

"Sure whatever you say Mas. No homo though." I grappled the roof and we started walking to a guard post."You take one, I'll get the other." I pulled out my tactical knife and stealthily slit the guard's throat, Yusuke doing the same to the other guard. "Okay, now to find Sakamoto." I activated my SmartVision to search for Sakamoto. I found him talking to General Hussain, the leader of the insurrection.

"This city is crumbling while our prime minister does nothing."

"Hmph… your prime minister care little for his people, neither do the Americans and the Japanese."

"They care… only for their own interests."

"Ha Ha… believe my friend. With your help, I can rid this world of the imperialist." Sakamoto started to move away from my view cutting his audio feed. "Damn, they're out of my range."

"They're coming around this way, let's move out Mas."

"Sure, led the way Yusuke." Me and Yusuke walked along the roof, dodging the search helicopters, we eventually relocated Sakamoto and General Hussain. The area we were in was heavily exposed so we had to lay down to not get spotted."Alright, let's give this a try." They didn't talk much, I thought nothing was going to happen until General Hussain mentioned China. "Mr. Sakamoto, you said you met with the chairman of the Chinese military, Huang Zhao."

"Yes, but of course. China is a keystone in my plan, they will do anything to destroy the Japanese." They started to move out of range again and the audio cut off again. "Fuck, they're out of range. Let's move to a better location." I followed the marker I placed on Sakamoto and saw him going to a helipad.

"Mas, we can see them through this guard post."

"Good idea, keep it quiet though." We quietly opened the door and Yusuke snuck up and stabbed the guard in the back. "Now to find this bastard." I relocated Sakamoto, he appeared to be talking to some one. He had blue hair and had a sword on him, he was accompanied by a man with blond hair and a sword. I noticed they looked very similar to each other and to me, I scanned them and I found out the blue haired one was Mujihi and the blond was named Hijoshiki or 'insane' in English. "So that's that Mujihi guy Colonel warned us about. Kinda looks like you Mas, so does that blond guy.

"Ah… Lord Suzukaze, you're here already. Our mission is done, Chairmamn Zhao will be meeting in his estate in Shanghai, also we had to deal with some rats but we captured them. My dear brother here wanted to kill them but I didn't allow it yet." Mujihi spoke to Sakamoto in English and with a accent and voice the same as me. _Who the bloody hell is the bloke? Why does he sound like me?_

"That's good Mujihi, have you located your other brother yet?"

"No, he's a hard one to get, he's as elusive as a snake. But when I see him, I'll discipline him again about our purpose."

"Do whatever you want, just be sure to deal with those rats you found. Just be sure to keep searching for Sabre."

"Don't worry my lord, me and my brother we'll deal with it personally."

"Very well. I must be going, keep searching for your brother."

"Of course my Lord." Sakamoto walked away with General Hussain while Mujihi and Hijoshiki started to get into a Jeep and took off from the helipad. Then a Hind appeared in the window.

"These helicopters are really starting to piss me off." We left the guard post and followed Sakamoto's market, avoiding the helicopter patrolling. We were close to our next recording place when I tried to contact Haruzuko. "Haruzuko, this is Okonogi. Have you and Yamato found the jeeps?" I didn't get a response, I called again but Haruzuko wasn't responding. "Damnit!"

"What's wrong Mas?"

"Haruzuko. He hasn't responded to me calls, I think he and Yamato are in danger."

"Let's just get to Sakamoto's location." We jumped off the roof and incapacitated two guards and hid them in the truck. We entered the building and recorded Sakamoto talking with General Hussain.

"We managed to steal this from the Americans. They call it the XF-14, the next generation fighter aircraft. I feel that if you massed produced this aircraft, then no army will stand a chance."

"Correct my friend, once I meet with Chairman Zhao on June 17th,

As soon as I got that bit of information, a train stopped right in front of my view of me.

"We're not gonna get any info with that train in the way let's go." We walked to another part of the building and saw a part completely submerged in water. "Looks like we have to go for a little swim." We dived in the water and swam past some bodies and office supplies when we got to Sakamoto's location. I turned on my SmartVision and recorded through the wall. To my horror, I saw that Sakamoto had captured Haruzuko and Yamato. "Of course Mujihi, not only am I aware of an infiltration. I was the one who engineered it." Sakamoto looked down directly at me, then a piercing sound filled the room. Sakamoto ordered some men to drop grenades on me and Yusuke. "Fuck! look out Mas, grenade!" Yusuke pushed me into the water before the grenades detonated. We came up for air and I saw the whole room surrounded in fire. _No… my pyrophobia is acting up again._ Ever since I was about 9 years old, I had a fear of fire, but only when it was orange coloured flames, the ones that flicker and get massive.

" _Chien! Please get up!"_

"Get a hold of yourself Mas! C'mon let's get out of here." Yusuke pulled me back into the water, I swam frantically to get away from the flames. I swam so fast that I was separated from Yusuke and went to go save Haruzuko and Yamato. "There they are…" I checked a door and saw two figures highlighted, I walked to the door, when I went for my sword the door opened and heard a Pakistani accent. "Stop right there!" I turned around to see General Hussain with Yusuke at gun point.

"Mas… help me." My hand was still on my sword's hilt, I was about to pull it out when General Hussain threatened me. "Slice that door, and I'll blow his brains out!" General Hussain was struggling to say his threats, he was most likely scared of me. "Surrender. I won't ask again." I was struggling to decide whether to get Haruzuko and Yamato or to get Yusuke. Then Yusuke told me "Don't worry about me Mas… Get those two out of here. At least I can take this bastard out with me."

"Shut up. Don't you m-move."

 _Kill…Kill…KILL!_

"*demonic voice* Heh heh… That's all I needed to here." I unsheathed my sword and slowly approached General Hussain. The pitiful man begging for his life, making empty threats, I was far gone by that point, 'The Ripper' had already overcome me. I lifted my sword in the air and swiftly sliced General Hussain's head clean off his body, his blood splurged across the wall and all over my face, sword, and armour. I came to my senses right after his brutal execution. I helped Yusuke up, poor man was in complete shock at the horror he just witnessed.

"Mas… Masaya, are you okay? Was that the Ripper or were you just saving me?"

"Me and the Ripper are the same Yusuke, I just murdered this man in cold blood, he didn't deserve death. I took justice into my own hands and murdered him."

"It was him or us. Besides, you just killed the ringleader of this whole coup. Without Hussain's leadership, this coup will fail even with Sakamoto's support. Now we should get Haruzuko and Yamato and all get the fuck out of here." Yusuke kicked down the door and untied our squad-mates, I stood at the doorway still recovering from my shock. I barely heard Haruzuko tell me where the Jeep's were located. "Good… You all get on the jeeps. I'm going after Sakamoto." I split off from the group when I contacted Yanase about our extraction. "Colonel, we've commandeered some enemy jeeps, I need you to send the helicopter's LZ to the others."

"Sergeant Okonogi, I'm afraid the original LZ has been taken. Apparently an entire regiment of U.S Marines under orders from the U.N Security Council have just landed in Pakistan to inspect Pakistan's nuclear capacity and locate any signs of a stolen experimental fighter plane for the U.S military. The LZ has been relocated to another area closer to the castle, use those jeeps to get the LZ."

"What if the Marines get to us first."

"Then you better hope they're in a good fucking mood."

"Fuck… Yusuke, the LZ been relocated closer, I'm putting it the smart glasses I gave you, I'll meet you there after I've dealt with Sakamoto."

"Mas, this a bad idea. He's got those two swordsman, Haruzuko's telling me their really good."

"Then I guess I'll try harder." I started to run to Sakamoto's location, the bastard was boarded a train away from the castle. I jumped onto a building and chased the train down until I was close enough to jump on. I ran through the carts until I got to his location. "Sakamoto!"

"Hmph… So this is the heir of the Okonogi family. I thought you would be older, no matter. You seemed to have killed someone gruesomely . Ah well, It's unfortunate that you'll die here, I was hoping to get to do it myself, but no matter. He's all yours Mujihi!" Just then Mujihi landed right in front of me and unsheathed his sword, the colour of the blade was hypnotising, but that didn't stop me from running after Sakamoto. "Out of my way!" Mujihi was fast, he managed to block all my swings without even trying.

"Well this is sad. I thought you would at least be as half good as me. Ah well, reality is different than expectations."

"Mujihi, make sure he suffers." Sakamoto boarded a helicopter and took off, leaving me with Mujihi.

 **Now Playing: The Only Thing I Know For Real(Instrumental)- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST**

"Let's go." I readied my sword and flipped on my tactical eyepiece. I analysed Mujihi stance. A traditional samurai stance with his sword as straight as his body. He then started to taught me "Now, now. Don't be shy" I took the offensive and lunged at him, he parried the attack and started his attack, he was so fast I could barely register his attacks. I tried my best to keep up with his speed but it was inhumanly fast. After barely parrying his barrage, we got into a sword-lock where he proceeded to taught me again. "Hmm… Self taught, and not have bad, still…" I pushed down and jumped over him, however he was too fast and he slashed my chest slightly. I grappled onto the train tunnel but Mujihi came towards me and hit me again, I fell onto the train hard and groggily got up. "Your technique lacks something." We proceeded to exchange some more clashes until he got the upper hand and got me into another sword-lock. "Ah… now I see, you deny your weapon it's purpose." I was losing my focus, Mujihi broke the lock, hit me in the face with his hilt, in my dazed state he swung his sword, slicing my left eye out and destroying my tactical eyepiece."Agh!" I screamed in pain and flew back, covering my bleeding eye socket."It yearns to bathe in the blood of your enemies. But you hold it back."

"You're wrong. My sword is my tool of justice." Mujihi ran his sword onto a fuel tank and used the sparks of his scrapping sword that the blade was engulfed in flames, using it as a scare tactic. I was too weak to put up a good defense, then I saw an opening in Mujihi's stance. I raised my sword but the man just chucked and sheathed his sword "Time Stop!" Everything froze from there and next thing I knew, my right arm was sliced clean off. "Shit! Not this one too…" I was struggling to stay balanced and not fall over but I was losing to much blood. Just then Yusuke called. "Mas… we're almost at the LZ. where are you?"

"Ha… Is this all The Ripper has to offer. Oh well, say good night Masaya." With another swing, Mujihi sliced a large chunk of my mandible off. I finally collapsed and looked at Mujihi in defeat. "This is what happens when you bring a tool to a sword fight. It's over… heh heh. Lucky devil." I turned to see Yusuke and the rest of the team open fire on Mujihi but they couldn't hit him and he got away on a helicopter. I used one of the adrenaline shots that Yanase gave me before this mission, although I still lost consensus due to a mass loss of blood.

 **Yusuke's POV**

I saw Mas collapse on the train, he was hurt bad as his lower jaw, his eye, and his right arm. I'm gonna get Mas real quick." I ordered Yamato, who was driving to get closer to the train. I jumped on and grabbed Mas, then I jumped back onto the jeep. "Fuck! Who the hell is that guy? How can he just kick the world's first cyborg super soldier ass without a scratch?"

"Maybe, Sergeant Okonogi isn't the world's first, it's probably he's the second with this Mujihi out classing him in both speed and skill."

"Kaido! We may have a problem. Look over there." I saw our helicopter being surrounded by American soldiers. "Oh shit, this isn't gonna be good." Yamato stopped the Jeep and immediately some of the Americans ran to us and held us at gun point.

"Drop your weapons!"

"Hey! Take it easy, we've got wounded here."

"Japanese soldiers shouldn't be in Pakistan!" I heard the commander of the Americans, I noticed who it was. It was General Tomas Harris, a hero of the 1991 Gulf War, he is the commander of the U.S Marine Commandos, the best trained soldiers on the planet. _So this must be the famous 1_ _st_ _Marine Commando Regiment. That explains the double sided pauldron and kama one their armor._ "My good General, we don't want any trouble with you Americans. The only reason to be in Pakistan is Suzukaze Sakamoto, a druglord and anarchist who wishes to overthrow the Japanese Empire."

"Hmph… Then we have something in common. But know this… Sergeant Kaido if you really only after Suzukaze Sakamoto, then I have no need to kill you." The American soldiers stood down and proceeded somewhere else. We boarded the helicopter and left the area without any major problems besides Mas slowly dying.

 **Aboard the IJN Hiryu**

 **The next day.**

We finally landed back on the Hiryu and we quickly took Mas to sick-bay. I didn't even salute Colonel Yanase and greet that American business man who was oddly still here. "Come one, don't you fucking die on me Mas!" We put Mas in immediate care and the doctors were quick to keep him alive. Colonel Yanase came up to me after we left Mas to the doctors

"Sergeant Kaido, that was a very brave thing you did. Masaya would be dead if not for you. Follow me to the flight deck." I followed Yanase to the flight deck and saw the ship's crewman all at attention with Haruzuko and Yamato at the front. Yanase went to the front of the formation and called my name "Sergeant Kaido, report to front!" I walked to Yanase and saluted him. "Sir, Sergeant Kaido reporting in." I saw Yanase grab patches with red and yellow stripes and a sliver star on it. "For you bravery in combat and exceptional service to the Empire. I hereby promote you and Sergeant Okonogi to the rank of Second Lieutenant." Yanase gave the patches to me and I saluted him. The small ceremony ended and I went to give Mas his ranks. However when I got there he's room was locked and the ER sign was glowing. I saw through a window Mr. Goldman with a new body for Mas after his current one got destroyed by Mujihi.

 _Just who the hell is this Me. Goldman? What does he want from my friend._

 **With that I bring Chapter 7 to a close. Let's start with Masaya's defeat to Mujihi. Who is the guy? Why is better than a cyborg super soldier? Why does he look and sound like Masaya. All that and more will be answered later. For now Masaya will return with yet another body and go back to Vincennes in Chapter 8: Love Letter Panic. If you have any questions or comments, please PM. Also Chapter 8 might take awhile as I've decided to go back and revise my earlier chapters to get them up to my new standards so expect the old chapters to change so look forword to that. With that being said please leave a review whether positive or constructive criticism, I'll be sure to read them.-Shepherds12**


	9. Chapter 8: Love Letter Panic

**Chapter 8: Love Letter Panic**

 **May 7th, 2011**

 **Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **0830 Hrs**

 **Rise's POV**

I walked over to Masaya's room to see if he was still gone, his door was still locked and he wasn't anywhere to be seen. _Where could he be, it's been two days since he disappeared. I'll go check outside._ I left the dormitory to the courtyard to see Chiho and Ruriko talking with each other. "Chiho, Ruriko. Have you two seen Masaya? He's still missing and I was just wondering if you two had seen him."

"Sorry Rise, but I haven't seen Masaya since the dance. His job can't hold him back forever though, he'll be back soon."

"If this matter bothers you too much Rise, then we should check the school for Masaya. Does that sound good."

"Yeah, good Idea Ruriko. We should check by the gate, maybe he's on the way back." We walked to the gate, on the way we ran into Ritsuko and Konomi who decided to tag along to find Masaya. At the gate we asked Captain Suzuki if she'd seen Masaya but she told us that she also last saw him leave the gym. We were about to leave the gate area when Ruriko called out to me.

"Rise, I see Masaya! He's walking towards the gate!" I turned around to see Masaya wearing his trench coat and slowly walking towards the gate. However something was different, he was wearing what appeared to be a mask that looked awfully like the one this masked man I met named Takashi wore. He also appeared taller, and his pants were the standard issue armor that the army used. The gate opened and Masaya strode forward. He stopped right in front of us and looked at us, his mask then split in two and moved slowly to the sides of his head, revealing his face. He had a cybernetic looking lower jaw and had a black leather eyepatch over his left eye, his right eye also briefly shined red before returning to his normal green eyes. I walked up to greet him. "Salutations Masaya, I was worried about you, you disappeared after the dance. What happened to you?"

 **Masaya's POV**

I looked at Rise, she looked worried and a little scared. I was struggling to make up a convincing lie. "We had another accident, my team and I were disposing a old World War II bomb in someone's yard when it went off, my team was safe but I wasn't. My right arm was blown off and so was my lower jaw. My left eye was sliced out again by a piece of shrapnel, I had my tactical eyepiece on when the explosion was triggered so the shrapnel destroyed it as it sliced my eye. I had to under go some more surgery to get a new cybernetic right arm and lower jaw, they also replaced my tactical eyepiece with a two piece tactical visor that closes over my eyes, I'm afraid my left eye however was not given a new one as the cybernetic eyes are the most expensive part of the enhancements, though if I have my tactical visor on, the eyepatch has a lot of micro cameras to project a video feed to my left eye socket, basically letting me regain sight in my left eye. It's fine now, I'm alive and I was given a paid vacation while I get adjusted to my new features."

"I see… it's terrible that you've nearly experienced death twice while working. "

"You must be so hurt Masaya, let me take care of you."

"Woah there Ruriko, Masaya doesn't have a flu, he just got hurt while working

"I can't believe that your employers care little for their workers wellbeing."

"It's fine Ritsuko, I knew what I was signing up for when I took the job." That part was true, before becoming a commando, I had no purpose. I was a normal teenager looking for money, I was swayed by the Yokosuka Yakuza's boss, only known as The Boss, he made do all those terrible things or else he'd kill me. I was trapped in this endless cycle of misery and pain. Now I had a purpose, to repent for my sins and to defend those who are suffering the same way I did. "Look girls, I need to rest, the flight here was a bumpy ride. I'll see you all later." I left the girls and headed for my room, walking past the other students, I heard all sorts of gossip around me.

" _What happened to him? He's missing an eye."_

" _I don't know, he looks so scary."_

" _I think he looks even more dreamy with that eyepatch, that jaw, and those two things on the side."_

" _You're not saying that you've fallen for him Sayaka!"_

" _What?! No, he just looks really dashing and handsome. Like a stoic rogue_

I walked into the dormitory and went to my room, taking a shower and a nap.

 **May 9th, 2011**

 **1200hrs**

We ate lunch at the Maria Hall courtyard with Ritsuko and the other Red Rose girls I personally knew, the attention I got for my new appearance was something to say the least. The other students in class were in there usual loud whisper voice during break time, the teachers with the exception of Sister Mishima seemed to care more about the fact I skipped school than my injuries. I couldn't just tell them that a sadistic swordsman named Mujihi left me to die in Pakistan because I was fighting to stop an self-righteous international terrorist from sparking a new world war. Soon after we arrived, Tamie came running to us with pamphlets in here hand. "Rise! Check it out, this is Masaya's approval rating from last week." Rise took the pamphlet and was visually surprised at the ratings.

"Oh my, Masaya's ratings have increased. It's a small boost but, any progress is better than none. Here have a look everyone." Rise put the pamphlet on the table, everyone there all crowded around the piece of paper.

"It's a good start but we're still far from majority support."

"Take it as a victory Masaya, this will be the only increase in support you'll get."

"My question is how? How did your support increase? You haven't done anything heroic or brave."

"That's where you're wrong Chiho, Masaya rescued Konami's life on the day of the May Festival. Here's that report." We gathered to see the other paper Tamie placed on the table. It was a picture of me with Konomi in my arms. _So this is the picture Tamie took right after I caught her._

"Hey, where are you staring at! You pervert!"

"I wasn't looking at that place… now whose really the pervert." Konomi's skirt was slightly lifted because she was falling so when I caught her and Tamie took the picture, her underwear was visible.

"So you saved Konomi from falling off one of the cherry trees, that was very valiant of you Masaya."

"It's fine Ritsuko, I did what I had to. Unless you wanted Konomi's brains to be a blood splat on the floor."

"Well it was good that you were there." Ritsuko was as cold as ever, she didn't even crack a smile at my joke, granted it was coarse and in bad taste but still, she truly was an elegant thorny rose.

"Onee-sama, I'm sorry! Because of me the Tentatuer Serpent gained support!"

"Konomi, you should be thankful for Masaya. He saved your life, remember our goal is to determine whether or not Masaya has a heart of gold and what his true colors are. Is he a noble man or is he a menace to this world, we won't know unless we study him.

"I… forgive me, It just I don't want the serpent to do you all any harm. He's very crafty and unpredictable not to mention his proficiency in sorcery. He probably can brainwash us all into doing his bidding."

"Konomi… please stop, Masaya is not a sorcerer nor is he seductive serpent."

"You don't know that, when I was in his arms I felt a baby growing inside me again."

 _Jesus if she really was pregnant with my children, I'd have like five kids by now, I wonder if she's told Yanase that a boy at school got her "pregnant ", then he'd literally have me put to death unless I clear up the misunderstanding._

"I must say, I agree with Ritsuko. Even though I detest his personality, I alone cannot deduce his true colors. Loathsome as he hcan be, he does appear to have a sense of justice. We just need to be patient and let the other students decide his fate.

 _Tsk… like you would know, you tried to sabotage my reputation with that text message fiasco last month._

"Anyways, Rise. I know the White Lily society needs more affiliates, what about letting Ayaka join?

"Ayaka… hmm… why though?"

"Well… at the dance, she came off as a pretty friendly person, I thought it might be worth a shot to try and invite her.

"Umm… Ritsuko?" Rise averting her eyes to Ritsuko who was as concerned as Rise. Regardless it was not in Rise's nature to be evasive, especially regarding Vincennes.

"My sister has little interest in such things. Even if you invite her, it is unlikely that she would accept your offer."

"Ah… I see, so much for that idea."

"Well, class is going to start soon, let's leave so we can get there on time."

"Right." We left the courtyard to head back to class. As I was walking with Rise and the others, I got a call from Yusuke. "Yusuke, what's up mate."

"Hey Mas, I was just wondering how you've been, you gave everyone on the Hiryu quite the scare after Pakistan. Anyways, Yanase told me to tell you to meet him at the Pappatore Moonrock tonight, looks like he's got another present for you.

"Yeah, I need to hang up Yusuke, I need to get to class."

"Right, I forget. You're going to Vincennes. Hey, do my a favor Mas, if you find a hot girl there, hook me up with her will ya."

"Heh… yeah, a blind one."

"Haha… Fuck you, talk to you later Mas, good to hear you still have your wits."

"I'm British, it's kind of a requirement, unlike you yanks." I hang up and saw the girls looking at me with concern.

"Who was that on the phone?"

"A guy I know, he's name is Yusuke Kaido, he's a bit of an oddball. He's a half just like me except he's half American." We made it to class on time and the rest of the day progressed as normal then at around 9:00 at night, I snuck out of the school and headed for the Pappatore Moonrock. When I got to the restaurant, Colonel Yanase was sitting in at a table. "Colonel."

"Ah… good to see up and kicking Masaya, that strong will is a mark of a samurai, something Yuuji and his father, your grandfather were."

"You seem to know a lot about my uncle, did you two know each other well?"

 **Now Playing: Father and Son- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots OST**

"*sigh* me and your fa- uncle, we were childhood friends, we did everything together growing up. My family ran a dojo that General Okonogi help manage, he used it to train the Imperial Commandos after he created the unit. Me and Yuuji were the best of friends growing up, all the way up until his death in 1995, we were only 25 years old when he died, and my wife was pregnant with Konomi at that time. She was a servant of your family's estate, she was one of your grandmother's maids. She had the biggest crush on Yuuji but she thought that he would never want a maid like her, sadly she was right and Yuuji never married and had children before he died, that is why you have no paternal cousins."

"So… you two grew up together. I can only imagine the pain you must have felt when you found out he was killed."

"I swore my eternal allegiance to him during the Soviet-Japanese War, I vowed to be his friend and servant to him and his family forever. I know you're not a higher rank that me and that I'm technically your superior officer but I made an oath to Yuuji and I will make damn sure to honor that oath. I hereby pledge my loyalty to you, Lord Masaya, heir of the great Okonogi family. Please accept this as a token of my loyalty." Yanase handed me a suitcase, inside was a skin tight suit, and a handgun suppressor, he also handed me a new sword, this one was an HF blade made out of pure silver. Like my last sword, it glowed a blue hue. "So what's with the suit and suppressor?"

"The suit is a prototype combat outfit the boys at R&D created, it's called the SV Sneaking Suit. It makes it way easier for stealth operations, you never know when you might need it." The sneaking suit was a skin tight dark blue one piece suit with some armour platting and had soles on the boots that gave off no sound, it also had some straps on the the chest area. The suppressor was a specially designed suppressor for the .45 ACP rounds my M1911A1 fired, this suppressor usually was meant for the pistol that Yusuke and the others carried, the HK Mk23 "SOCOM" pistol. However it can be used on other guns of the .45 ACP cartridge. "This is quite the gift. Thank you Colonel, I promise to be as good of a warrior as my uncle. One thing though, don't call me a lord, I'm no noble or prince."

"That's where your wrong Masaya, your family are the descendants of a legendary samurai warrior that helped the Mizakian Kingdom all those centuries ago with his skills on the blade. Some say the Okonogi bloodline is a divine bloodline of the dragons."

"I think you've read a little bit too much fantasy novels, Ryuto. Dragons don't exist, and even if they did, there's no way in hell I'm a descendent of them." I left the restaurant and gave my goodbyes to Colonel Yanase who smiled and nodded at me. Being honest it felt weird. A colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army was pledging his loyalty to a newly promoted 2nd Lieutenant. However at the same time I got it, he was my uncle's best friend and brother in arms, it was obvious he had the highest respect and admiration for my uncle in his youth. Now nearly 20 years later he now serves his friend's nephew who walks the same path as a soldier. I returned to Vincennes and went to sleep, thinking back on the things I've learned about my family's history.

 **May 10th, 2011**

 **1600hrs**

 **Now Playing: Thoughtless as Usual- Princess Evangile OST**

The next day after class, I opened my shoebox only to let out a noise of surprise. "What the-" I clamped a hand over my mouth and looked to see if anyone was watching. "Thank god…" No one was nearby, I grabbed the envelope in my shoebox, it was pink and had a heart sticker to seal the opening, I flipped it to the frontside to see an address. _To Mr. Masaya Okonogi._ I wasn't a dense guy so I knew exactly what this was. The heart sticker, pink colour, and the fact it was in my locker all pointed to one thing. "This is a love letter…" I quickly stuffed the note in my coat and started to walk outside trying not to look suspicious when I heard a voice.

"Salutations Masaya."

"Ah!" I got startled and quickly turned on my tactical visor and pulled out my M1911A1 with the suppressor I received attached and pointed it at the voice, which belonged to Ruriko. She jumped at the sight of the muzzle of the suppressor pointed at her forehead.

"Please don't shoot! It's just me!"

"Jesus Ruriko, for the love a god please don't sneak up on me like that again." I put my sidearm back in it's holster.

"I saw you about to leave, we still have a society meeting today just to remind you."

"Yeah, about that I got a really bad stomach bug right now. I'm gonna sit this meeting out."

"You seem fine to me. Are you sure you're sick."

 _Fuck! Come on Masaya, think fast._ "Hngg… aw shit! I got to go to the nurse."

"Oh my, here I'll take you to her office."

"No… I can get there by myself. I'm heading to her office, make sure to tell Rise and Chiho that I'm gonna miss today's meeting. Aghh… I need to go!"

"Ah… Masaya, the nurse's office is in the building." I ran out of the building and bolted to my room, I noticed that the new upgrades I got increased my speed and I made me leave a trail of electricity. I made it to my room and locked the room and sat down on my bed and put the letter on the coffee table.

 **Rise's POV**

 **Maria Hall, Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **Now Playing: The Usual Times- Princess Evangile OST**

It was already almost 4:30 and Masaya hadn't shown up. I was starting to wonder what happened to him "Masaya is running awfully late today."

"Ah Rise, it appears he had a stomach ache, I ran into him at the entrance of the main building.

"A stomach ache? But he was completely fine at the the end of sixth period."

"At the the end of sixth period, then that would be just right before Ruriko saw him at the entrance area."

"Oh well, I'm pretty sure he's a little under the weather. We don't have anything to discuss so we can call it quits for today."

 **Masaya's POV**

I picked up the letter and grabbed my tactical knife to carefully cut the sticker in half. As soon as I opened the letter, the sweet scent of flowers filled my room. "So this really is a love letter. I wonder who's this is from?" I took the piece of paper In the envelope and unfolded it. The writer's handwriting was a cute, girlish style that suited whoever wrote it. The letter said. "Please Mr. Masaya, I would like you to meet me at the rose garden after class. Signed, Plaisanterie."

 _Plaisanterie, that must be her title that the girls here have. Also she requested the meeting right after class?!_

"Bloody hell… can I still make it." Flustered, I stood back up and checked my watch. It had been fifteen minutes since the bell rang at the end of school day. I ran right to the door and grabbed the knob but.

*clatter* *clatter*

"Son of a bitch! The bloody door knob chose this time to get stuck! God fucking… Rahhh! I kicked down the door and it flew right off the hinges, then as I walked outside I realised that the door was just locked. _*sigh* why am I such a bloody idiot._ The other girls in the hallway looked at me with a frightened expression. "Don't worry ladies. I'll pay for the damn door." I ran past them, put on my boots and headed outside, straight to the rose garden.

"*pamt* *pant* Is she not here yet?" There were a good amount of students here as this was a hangout area after school for students to relax and talk with their friends. No one there seemed to be excited for my presence so I assumed that this 'Plaisanterie' was not here.

"…God fucking- son of a bi- gah… bloody hell!" I yelled out curse words and punched my forehead repeatedly, this got a lot of looks of concern from the girls there.

" _Eek! What is he doing?"_

" _Does he have a glitch in his circuits?"_

The letter specifically said to meet her right after class, which meant I was fifteen minutes late. I remembered what my drill sergeant at Basic Training told me and my platoon members that in the military. 'If you're on time, you're fifteen minutes late. And of you're fifteen minutes late, then you're just a lazy sack of shit' I guess that saying goes to show why the Americans Marines were the 'first to fight'. I was sure that the ladies of Vincennes had that sort of time management mentality like the military. I pulled out the letter, hopeful to get a response but I knew I wouldn't get one. I assumed that 'Plaisanterie' thought I rejected her feelings of affection and left before I can get here. That thought made me feel like putting a bullet into my brain. "Grr…" I let out an audible growl that sounded a little too demonic but maybe it was because I sounded different, I noticed my voice had become more gruff sounding, I thought it was a side effect of the surgery.

" _Is he alright? He looks really scary right now."_

" _He has that look in his eye again."_

I left the rose garden and returned to my dorm feeling like shit. _Real smooth Masaya, you blew your chance at someone willing to listen to your problems._

 **No POV**

"*giggle* You're too cute for own good Masaya." Ayaka was behind a bush looking at Masaya leave the rose garden. "Well… this should be fun. Now I need to think about what to write for tomorrow."

 **Masaya's POV**

 **May 11th, 2011**

 **0930hrs**

 _Ugh… what a bloody shame._ I was still kicking myself over yesterday's love letter. I didn't help that I also got a tongue lashing from the Headmistress because I kicked down another door. Even though I hadn't meet or even seen this 'Plaisanterie' before I just had this feeling in me to act without thinking. I was so irrational about the whole thing, I didn't even know her real name. ' _Plaisanterie.'_ That title was stuck in my head, the title system at Vincennes was used as a fancy nickname for the more popular girls and they all derived from a French word, I was fluent in French and yet I didn't know what it meant. I was tempted to ask Rise or one of the others but then I'd reveal the love letter situation to them and they'd all most likely hang me from a tree. Though my sudden outburst the day before wasn't because a girl confessed her feelings to me, being honest I didn't have an interest in love at that time, I was so caught up with Sakamoto and my own demons that I had pretty much closed myself off from any romantic feelings or relationships. The reason I got so worked up about it was because I wanted a friend. Rise told me that I should "expand my social circle" and get as many people on my side, of course the true reason being that I had no friends to speak of before I met Rise and since then I've reconnected with Chiho, made friends with the daughter of the CEO of Kamiyagi Industries, Ruriko, and started forming a camaraderie with Yusuke, Haruzuko, and Yamato. I guess in my head 'Plaisanterie' was another person I could feel comfortable around.

"Masaya, you seem listless today. Does your stomach still hurt?"

"Huh?"

"I was just wondering. Ruriko told us you came down with a stomach bug. Was she mistaken?"

"Uh…" _Shit, I should've known Ruriko would tell them. Just play it cool Masaya._ "Y-Yeah, that's right- gah!" I pretended to feel my stomach hurt and put a hand over it to emphasise I had a stomachache.

"What could it be? You've been acting like this all day, I hope it wasn't food poisoning. I'm rather worried about you health Masaya."

"Don't feel bad love, I'm feeling better today. The pain's almost gone, actually. I just feel a little nauseous, I should be feeling better by lunchtime."

"I see. Well, I'm glad to hear that." Rise was heading for the door when I stopped her.

"Hey, Rise?"

"What is it?"

"Uh… never mind. It was nothing." I waved her off and she left the classroom. I wanted to tell her about the whole 'Plaisanterie' situation but I couldn't bring myself to ask her.

 **Six hours later**

Class had just ended and I was heading to my shoebox. However, I had that strange feeling I always get when a I sense something off _That strange feeling, I'm feeling like this is some premonition ._ I was also wondering if Plaisanterie had given me a second chance and put another letter in my shoebox. I let a deep sigh as I opened my shoebox and right next to my right shoe was another letter from 'Plaisanterie'. "Another one." To avoid the same mistake as last time, I opened the letter on the spot. I knew the girls around me would think that I was just reading a piece of paper. _Dear Mr. Masaya, I'm sorry about yesterday, I had too much homework and I had some doubts about your gender and sexual orientation. Anyways please meet me at the cathedral after class. Sincerely, Plaisanterie._

"So, she wants to meet me at the cathedral."

"Oh, Masaya."

"Ah!" I screamed and jumped at Ruriko's voice, hoping she hadn't seen the letter.

"…Oh, oh my, oh my." Ruriko's eyes began to sparkle as she noticed the letter.

"Oh shit…" I muttered a curse in English to hide my distraught.

"That paper your holding. Could this be a love letter?"

"N-Now where the b-bloody hell did you get that idea from."

"Well… this is the entrance. Love letter go in the shoebox. That's the rule with those types of things.

"*grunt* Don't believe everything you seen in an anime, Ruriko. Life isn't a generic slice of life moe show." I was denying her claim that love letters were supposed to be in the shoeboxes. I knew her claim had some merit as it happened all the time to people at Eitatsu. "Also, me? Getting a love letter at this school? Ha… don't be ridiculous Ruriko."

"Really? It does seem far fetched to me." I started to panic, I needed to drop this conversation and leave the main building.

"Look. I need to go, I'll talk to you later." I stuffed the letter in my coat and quickly left the building to head to the cathedral.

"Wait Masaya! What about the society meeting?!" I barely heard Ruriko's words as I started running towards the cathedral, avoiding any girls in my way. I made it to the cathedral and opened the huge doors to see a very mesmerising interior. The inside of the cathedral was decorated with all sorts of Christian art and relics from stained glass windows depicting Jesus and his disciples to King Charles I, the first Holy Roman Emperor. I looked towards the alter and saw Ritsuko clasping her hands over a cross that Jesus was crucified on. _I feel strange, like I'm at peace._ I looked to the ceiling and saw a mural that depicted two dragons, one white coloured, the other black coloured, they were circling around each other, then I saw the black coloured one break away and what appeared to be the world in chaos, the next section showed a silhouette of five warriors being granted swords by the white dragon, the final section showed the black dragon being defeated by the five warriors as peace is restored to the world. _Hmm… what a strange mural for a Catholic Church to have. And why is Ritsuko here? I didn't think she would be Christian. The only other reason for her being here is… No, she's not Plaisanterie, is she?_ The doors closed behind me and Ritsuko turned to me.

 **Now Playing: Elegant Thorn- Princess Evangile OST**

"Oh… it's just you Masaya."

"Hey Ritsuko… never thought you'd be the religious type."

"I'm not religious, but this cathedral makes me feel at peace."

"I see what you mean. This place has a regal yet peaceful atmosphere." The interior of the cathedral was fancy, which usually feels strange to me as I've never done anything 'high class'. But for some reason the place made me feel at ease.

"Well then, I'll be on my way. Farewell Masaya." Ritsuko moved past me, I wanted answers so I spoke up suddenly.

"Hold it. Ritsuko, may I ask you a question?" Ritsuko turned around.

"What do you need Masaya?"

"I just need to ask. Are you the only one here?" I scanned the area with my SmartVision but I wanted to get confirmation from Ritsuko before I start guessing that Ritsuko is using Plaisanterie as a different alias to hide her feelings

"It appears I am. Why do you ask?"

"…Nothing, just curious that's all." We stood in awkward silence when the door suddenly opened and a silhouette walked in.

"Sister?!" Ritsuko was shocked, I turned to see Ayaka coming towards us.

 **Now Playing: Always at Own Pace- Princess Evangile OST**

"Salutations."

"…What's going on? You never come to the cathedral." It was the first time I saw the two Kitamikado sisters together. I knew I noticed something how Ayaka and Ritsuko, besides hair and eye colour, were similar in physical appearance. But seeing them side by side, I noticed the obvious height and bust size differences. Ayaka was tall for a Japanese woman and very voluptuous while Ritsuko was a normal petite girl with a small bust size. Honestly at a first glance, you wouldn't be able to tell if these girls were sisters.

"Well, I saw Masaya walk in hear. I was just wondering why he would come to the cathedral."

"Ugh…" I wrapped my arms around my head at writhed in agony.

"Did you come to pray? Or maybe… you were here for a secret rendezvous."

"…Um, rendewhat?" I was trying to play dumb to avoid telling the truth about my reasons for going to the cathedral. Ayaka got closer to me, sweet fragrance touching my face, my thoughts were growing hazy. Combined with the softness of her breasts pressing against my arm, it was all I can handle.

"Let me explain it to you since, you're probably used to the military version of the word. It means a… lovers' meeting." She breathed the words hotly into my ear. Then Ritsuko piped up from where she was.

"Wh-What are doing, Sister… this is disgraceful."

"What? But you see people talk like this all the time."

"…Masaya is a man."

"*giggle* You worry to much, Ritsuko. Right, Masaya?"

"Wh-What?" She murmured the words "Right, Masaya" into my ear again. It tickled, and caused my body to squirm a little

"That. Is. Ab. So. Lite. Ly. Not. True." Ritsuko struggled to get the words out as she was trying to pull Ayaka from my arm. "Really… this is still a cathedral. Show a modicum of respect."

"Oh, please. There's no believers here. Geez, you really are a stickler for rules, Ritsuko."

"…Compared to you, everyone in this school is."

"Eh… you may be right."

"I am right, Sister." I had never seen Ritsuko like this before. She was always so detached from everything; even in arguments with Konomi, she never dropped her cold façade. Now, she was showing some actual emotions. I was beginning to see her in a new light. "Ah, Masaya, I apologize."

"What?"

"My sister has offended you."

"Oh, no, she didn't really."

"*giggle* I can't think how I offended him. Masaya likes it, right?"

"Ah…" I couldn't really deny it, but I also felt the weight of Ritsuko's gaze on me.

"Of course he doesn't. What man would be happy to be grabbed on to by someone he isn't in love with."

"You just don't understand Ritsuko. Not everyone in this world is a saint. If they were, civilaization would collapse."

"…Fine. What do you think, Masaya? Is my sister correct, or am I?"

"*grunt* I'm not really sure." I found myself dodging Ritsuko's question. "But I will say that there are lot of types of people in the world, and they all have their interests and agendas."

"I wasn't asking for bland platitudes, Masaya."

"Huh?"

"What we want to hear is what your thinking. Right, Ritsuko?"

"I would prefer the platitude, myself…"

"But you have a living example right in front of you. Would't you want to hear it from the horse's mouth?"

"…Well, I suppose so. What is your personal opinion then, Masaya?"

"Um…" _Shite, this is bad. Ayaka just had to open her bloody mouth._

"Does it make you happy?"

"I don't wish to believe that you are that type of person, but." As before, I felt the weight of Ritsuko's gaze. _Shite, what do I do?_ Whether I lied or told the truth, I was in deep shit. If I told the truth, Ritsuko would think less of me. And if I lied, then I would offend Ayaka.

"'That kind of person?' Come on. How is Masaya supposed to answer when you put it like that."

"Ah."

"You're tying to force him into saying he wasn't happy."

"You're the one who was leading him on before…"

"Fine, then I withdraw my question. I know the answer anyways."

"Yes, yes."

"Well, you have the first term vote coming up. It wouldn't do to damage your image now." Ayaka turned and smiled at me. "It's really not a bad thing, ya know. Ritsuko is just so fastidious."

"Uh huh…"

"So, why don't we put the matter on hold for now?" I felt an honest sense of relief at Ayaka's word, but Ritsuko's determination only grew.

"But my intentions are to sought out Masaya's true colors."

"If your just gonna get a bad impression of him, why not save it until later? I just think It such a waste. There are those you forgive and those who you don't forgive for what is ultimately the same actions. You're a fastidious person, so you can't forgive a man for thinking dirty thoughts, right?"

"W-Well… yes…"

Well that's fine in and of itself. But right now, I think it'll be a waste to start hating Masaya. So once you start to like him more, you'll be able to learn his true colors and not mind."

"L-Like him?"

"Not in that way. I mean as a friend."

"…Very well." Ritsuko nodded in resignation. I couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"*chuckle* You two lasses really are sisters, right?"

"Yeah. I'm the sister of the dark, and she's the sister of the light."

"Hmph… I can see it. You two really belong together." As an only child, I couldn't help but feel jealous of the sisters.

"Wow. You may be the only person in Vincennes history to say that."

"In history? That seems like a bit of an exaggeration."

"Maybe it is, but it's the first time you've heard it, right, Ritsuko?"

"I suppose that's true. But sister, Masaya's role as an outsider means he brings many fresh perspectives."

"Fresh perspectives?"

"…When we danced during the May Festival, he talked to me about his impressions of you."

"Really? What did you say about me?" She nudged my elbow, smiling in delight.

"Oh, well… I just said that you were friendly and easy to talk to, or something like that."

"I see."

"He's the first person I've met that's said that about you."

"Well, that maybe true…" Ayaka shrugged. "Do you know what I'm known as at Vincennes? I suppose you don't. They call me 'The other Kitamikado'. Like the least popular member of a comedy troupe." I couldn't help but snicker at that.

"So… I take it that you don't have a title, then?"

"Oh, nothing neat like that. That's reserved for people with a certain level of status." _If Ayaka doesn't have a title. Then I can scratch her off on being Plaisanterie._ To be honest I felt a little disappointed that she wasn't.

"I think that's you own fault, Sister."

"In what way, exactly?" Ritsuko didn't answer Ayaka's question, and instead spoke to me.

"You should be aware, Masaya, that my sister is a troublemaker."

"Roger that…" With that, Ritsuko left the cathedral.

"For heavens sake. Ritsuko is such a stickler for rules. That stuff earlier was just our way of communicating, right?"

"Oh, um…" She acting like we were in agreement, but I wasn't actually sure how to respond to that.

"Of course, I would never do something like that to someone I didn't like. You're cute, Masaya. That's why I like to mess with you." _Did she just call a six foot two cybernetic enhanced super soldier, cute?_

"So… it wasn't just a way of communicating?"

"*giggle* What do you think? Half and half, I guess."

"Right…"

"Anyways, I'm out. See you later Masaya."

"Hmm… right."

"Ah… speaking of which."

"What is it."

"Why did you come to the cathedral? I wasn't… for a rendezvous with my little sister, was it.

"No, it was nothing like that."

"Hmm… confession, then? But Vincennes doesn't have priests, and you haven't exactly committed any sins that I know of." I hesitated, then I decided that my love letter secret was worth confiding in Ayaka. She was easy to talk to, and physically older than me, she could make a good confidant.

"*sigh* Look… the truth is."

"Ooh, I smell a confession. Go on, tell you big sister. Come on, right here." At Ayaka's urging, I sat down on one of the aisles. The wood was a bit chilly, but that was probably because I was nervous.

"I'll hold your hand to give you courage. Now go on, tell me everything."

"You know, you don't have to hold my hand."

"Too bad, now please tell me." I told Ayaka what happened yesterday.

"The sender was a lass calling herself 'Plaisanterie'. Do you know who that is, Ayaka?"

"Hmm… Of course. She's well known throughout the whole campus, after all."

"Well known? Really?" I wasn't a scientist, but I knew that in order to be well known, most people need to know who you are. If Plaisanterie was pretty popular, why hadn't I met or seen her in the whole month I've been at Vincennes.

"Well, it stands to reason that you haven't heard of her. She's a real beauty, but she's also known for being extremely shy."

"Wow…" 'A real beauty' I didn't necessarily want to date her, but the idea of how she looked made my heart jump a little.

"So, if she saw you in the hallways, she'd probably run into hiding like a nervous alley cat. But even so, she probably kept watching you from afar, gradually nurturing a longing for you." _Well shit._ This was starting to sound promising. "The reason she didn't show herself, today and yesterday, is because of the type of person she is."

"You mean, because she's shy?"

"Oui. She was able to give you the letter, but when it came down to it, she couldn't work up the courage to face you. I bet that's what's going on."

"I see…"

"What do you think of Plaisanterie?"

"Well, I don't think of anything of her one way or the other… but I would like to meet her, if I could. She went through all this trouble, and…"

"And?"

"Tsk… forget it." I couldn't bring myself to talk about my desire for human connection. I just shook my head vaguely.

"Because she's a beauty, right?"

"Ah, well, I guess so. Heh heh…"

"Anyways, here's some advice from me to you. Keep at it and do exactly as she says. You know what they say 'Good soldiers follow orders'."

"As she says?"

"Like, where she wants to meet and such. Even if you never see her…" Ayaka trailed off and took a look around the empty cathedral. "She's probably still watching from afar. Just like Sombre Scanner."

"Ah… I see." _Could Tamie be Plaisanterie, she does seem to always watch me from a distance. I did catch her one time hiding in a cardboard box taking pictures of me._

"If you keep giving in to her demands, she'll eventually manage to overcome her shyness."

"I see. Follower her orders and always do exactly what she wants."

"Yeah, well… good luck, Masaya." Ayaka left the cathedral and I soon followed suit.

 **May 14th, 2011**

 **1200hrs**

 **Now Playing: Thoughtless as Usual- Princess Evangile OST**

It was Saturday, three days later. I can tell from her expression that Rise was pissed off about my absences from the society meetings. "Please, Masaya. You have to show up to our society meeting today."

"Right…"

"The truth is, we mostly have free time. There's no particular business to discuss at the moment. But even if there's nothing to discuss, it's important that you come to the meetings. That'll strengthen the bonds between us. I believe that's what the White Lily society needs more than anything right now. Don't you agree?"

"Hmph… right. Whatever you say, love." I grabbed a cigarette from my coat pocket and grabbed my lighter to smoke it when. "Mr. Okonogi, what did I tell you about smoking in the building." I groaned and took the cigarette out of my mouth and put it back in the pack.

"You know Masaya, one day those cigarettes are going to kill you."

" _My… Rise is really scolding him."_

" _I wonder what he could of done."_

"Anyways, let's go to Maria Hall."

"Roger that…" We left the classroom to see Chiho and Ruriko waiting for me in the hallway. _Shite, they planned to gang up on me._

"Now, we're going to make sure you show up to the meeting this time."

"*sigh* Looks like you caught me, Officer Sagisawa, I guess I going to jail for going AWOL."

"Okay, Rise and Chiho, grab both his arms while I hold him from the back of his coat collar."

"That's really unnecessary, Ruriko. I'm not going to run away."

"Kuu." Panterbell let out a kuu which Ruriko 'translated' for me.

"Panterbell is telling me that he plans to wrap himself tightly around your neck to make sure you don't escape."

"This little mate is saying that he could put me into a chock hold."

"Don't worry, he said that he'll stay a little loose so you can breathe."

"That's nice. But I still don't want a furry animal around my neck like a glorified scarf."

"But my question is, what the hell are you doing? Rise told us that for the past three days you've literally bolted from the classroom after class, apparently you accidentally shocked a girl with some electricity." The girls had me in a corner, so I dec that I come clean and tell them about Plaisanterie and the love letters.

"*sigh* Look, let's go to the entranceway. The reason I haven't been around for the past four days should be there again today… I hope." The girls look at me with suspicion and proceeded to actually grab my arms and collar while Panterbell wrapped himself around my neck tightly, but not to where I'm chocking. We walked to the entranceway, the girls let go and I opened up my shoebox. "*sigh* Shite, I knew it."

"What is it?" I sighed again and showed Chiho, Plaisanterie's daily love letter. I knew I couldn't afford to miss anymore society meetings so it was no use lying to them about this anymore.

"Oh jeez… this is a-"

 **Rise and Chiho at the same time.** "A love letter?!"

"Oi! Not so bloody loud!" It was the end of the day and there were girls everywhere. "Look, I'll explain this at Maria Hall."

"You most certainly are. I sure would like to hear all you have to say about this."

"Oh, this looks like this is gonna be a fun meeting." _Shite, this is exactly why I wanted to keep this whole love letter situation under wraps._

 **15 minutes later**

 **Maria Hall, Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

"W-Well, what do you think of the skan- girl who sent you this." I had just told them everything about what's happened in the last four days.

"To be honest, I haven't given this girl much thought." That answer set Chiho off a little.

"Huh? Wh-What do you mean?"

"You don't know anything about here? You're just stringing her along."

"I see… so this is how men are, as they say."

"H-Hold on, wait a minute. Just listen to what I have to say."

"Ah… well, alright. I would hardly be fair to censure you without hearing your side of the story."

"Look… I'm sorry that I skipped the past few days."

"Nobody cares about that right now!"

"What?"

"Ah… I-I mean… um…there's no use worrying about it now. It was unavoidable, after all."

"Okay…"

"Come on Rise, it was not unavoidable! He just went to meet a girl!"

"*grunt* I haven't met her…"

"What?"

"She's been sending me love letters anonymously. I don't know who she really is. I haven't ever once seen who she is."

"What do you mean?"

"Ayaka told me that the lass is very shy. I guess she's testing me in a way. She wants to know if I do what she says in the love letter or not."

"So, what does this girl tell you to do."

"Well, it was stuff like waiting for her at a certain place and time."

"I suppose that's rather normal."

"Then she would tell me to water the plants or do a certain number of pushups, or to shoot soda cans on a wooden pole with my pistol. Then there was yesterday when she told me to do some shadow boxing, stuff like that."

"W-What nonsense is this."

"I don't know… I guess she likes strong men."

"No, that's not what I meant. But is rather strange, isn't it?"

"Well, I guess." It felt off to me too. But I pressed on because of Ayaka's advice.

"What a… curious story. And you're say that this girl watches you from afar while you do these things?"

"Apparently so."

"So… who exactly is this girl?"

"I wish I knew the answer, Chiho. She only writes her title on the note so, I don't know her real name."

"What's her title?"

"…Plaisanterie."

"What? Plaisanterie? I've never heard it before.

"What, really?"

"Yes, have you ever heard the title before, Ruriko?"

"No, I haven't."

"Yeah, and neither have I…"

"Hmm… strange. I thought you three would know." Vincennes was shut off from the rest of the world. I had assumed that everyone knew each other by high school. _This shit isn't adding up._ "Ayaka said that she was pretty well known."

"Well known?"

"…As a shy beauty."

"Hmm…"

"A shy beauty. Why am I not surprised that this is the reason you're interested in her."

"Maybe. But that's not the only reason, though."

"Well, even if it's not all about looks..,"

"Oh shite, hang on a minute." I cut off Chiho and opened the love letter.

"My, that's an awfully big letter opener." Ruriko was referring to my KA-BAR tactical knife that I used for various reasons from cutting rope to stealthy killing enemy soldiers.

"You know Masaya, you don't have to read the letter in front of us."

"I know, but a lot of the time there's a strict time limit on what she wants me to do."

"A strict time limit. I'm not sure I understand." I didn't want to disclose what Plaisanterie wrote for me today so I held the paper close to my face and read it in my head. _What the bloody hell is this._

"What did she write?" My surprise showed on my face which caused Chiho to be suspicious.

"No, well… its."

"Come on, let me see."

"I can't. It a unwritten rule that people don't read other people's love letters unless it's the sender."

"Wow… I forgot how stingy you can be sometimes."

"I don't think that's the problem." I put the piece of paper in the inside pocket of my coat. _Shite, do I really have to do this._ The letter said 'This is the last one' it also said 'if you complete this final task. I know I can trust you Mr. Masaya.' _Fuck it… I've done everything else, I can't just back down now. As they say 'Good soldiers follow orders.'_

"If I may? What does Plaisanterie even mean?"

"Sorry, I'm not familiar wit the word myself… Chiho, do you know what it means?"

"Nope, sorry. How about you Masaya? You say you're fluent in like what, 9 different languages."

"No, even I don't fully know what it means."

"Hmm… I have to consult my dictionary. The meaning may give us a hint at the identity of 'Plaisanterie'."

"I do wonder who she is… Could such a girl really exist?"

"Well, whoever she is, she's sending me these letters. The least I can do is meet her."

"You're right, Masaya."

"Anyways, do you have time to hang out with us or what?"

"Yeah, she said that I have to do the task at 1500 hours."

"1500 hour?! What the hell was the reason to tell now."

"1500 hours is 3:00 pm in Zulu time."

"Oh, then why didn't you just say 3:00?!" Anyways, where's it gonna be at?"

"*scoff* What? You planning on coming to watch?" I gave a cheeky smile which made Chiho start blushing.

"Wh-Wh-What are you talking about? Of course not."

"Well, it doesn't really matter, but I rather you not watch this time. She asked for something really bizarre this time."

"Something bizarre? In a love letter?"

"Yep." I said that as I finished lighting a cigarette.

"I don't really get it.., are you so desperate for a girlfriend that you'd go for someone like that?"

"No… well, it more like…" I gave a bitter smile and ran my hand they my hair. "The best why I can put is… *sigh* I want friends."

"Friends?"

"I told you all earlier. About how I've spent the past year. I was alone, and the only people I considered friends were stolen from me. *sniff* I'm sick and tired of being the bloody piece of rubbish on the corner of the street no one gives a shit about!" As I let out my frustration, I snapped the cigarette that was in my in two.

"Masaya…" All three of the girls grew visibly pitiful towards me. They looked at each other for what they should do.

"So when I came to Vincennes, I vowed to myself that I would make as many friends as possible. It sucks that there's no guys here, but I have Yusuke, he's a good guy, even if he can comes off as a little bit of a jackarse.. Plaisanterie might be a little strange, but I still want to meet her at least once. She's gone through all this trouble to approach me, after all. Besides I need as many supporters as I can get…"

"Y-Yes, that is true."

"Anyways, that all I have to say on that matter. Now can we start the meeting?"

"No… we've been here for over thirty minutes, and like I told you, we have no particular business to discuss. We can end it for today right now."

"Roger that… alright, I'm gonna head out." I walked over to the door and waved at the girls to say goodbye for the day and left the room.

 **Rise's POV**

We sat in silence as we tried to process what exactly happened today. We went from wanting to hang Masaya from a tree to feeling so sorry for him. He suffered so much pain and heartbreak and yet he still wished for friends. "*sigh* I guess in a way. Masaya has very good reasons on why he desires friends."

"Yeah…"

"Perhaps I can help soothe Masaya's battered heart."

"Wh-What's that suppose to mean?"

"Have I said something strange?"

"No you haven't, Ruriko. Besides, I think battered is putting it lightly. Masaya feels that he was robbed of his humanity. I can easily say that half of his body is cybernetic." I looked at the door and thought to myself. _I wonder what exactly happened that led to Masaya needing these cybernetic enhancements to live. He keeps telling us it was an accident involving explosives but I'm starting to think not. I see him trying to act normal but at the same time I can see that he's hiding something dark that he'd rather keep to himself._ We all left the society room shortly after Masaya and returned to our dorms.

 **Masaya's POV**

 **1300hrs**

 **Now Playing: Calmly and Peacefully- Princess Evangile OST**

I laid down on my bed and scanned the letter again. 'Mr. Masaya, please forgive my improper conduct in the past. I know my requests have been strange, but the sincerity with which you have undertaken them has made me very happy. Because of that, I am starting to think of you as someone I can really trust. This is my final request. It is unrelated to whether or not I can trust you. I only want to know. I wish to know If you are truly a man.' _What an odd question._ But Plaisanterie had written before that she had rarely even seen a man before. 'After all, I am still not certain that are truly a man. To be honest I think you're a teenager female make up artist that masquerades herself as a cybernetic man.' She had made confession like that in her earlier letters. That why she wanted proof. Once she had it, she can prepare herself as a woman. _Jesus Christ… I think this bird want to have sex with me._ It was certainly an open letter to her virginity, even though I've never seen her. _That would certainly be proof, but..,_ 'But please, don't worry. I have made preparations such that no one else will be there. I will the only one you… yes, it'll be for my eyes only. I wish to see your throbbing manhood. …Oh my how can I say that. Ohoho.' _What kind of bloody freak is this lass?_ It was hard to say. I would know once I meet her.

 **1 hour and 30 minutes later.**

"…Hmm? Oh shit, I must've fallen asleep." I woke up after I involuntary took a nap. I checked my mini computer's timer, I had thirty minutes left until I had to do Plaisanterie's task. "..,I should take a shower before I go." Now that it was May, the weather was starting to get humid, and I was a little sweaty from wearing my coat. If I was to show my body. I should at least get it clean first. I walked over to my bathroom and saw that Sister Mishima and some other teachers had installed my third bathroom mirror, there was a sticky note on it saying 'Please try not to shatter this one. The headmistress is sick of having to buy mirrors for your bathroom- Sister Mishima' I stepped into the shower and let the water hit my body.

 **Rise's POV**

We walked over to Masaya's room to tell him about what Plaisanterie meant. I knocked on his door. "Masaya? Hey Masaya, are you in there? Oh no, it appears he may have already left."

"Then we need to split up and find him, then. This can't be anything good. Damnit, I think he's walking into a another on of Mitsuki's traps, now that we know 'Plaisanterie' means joke,"

"You're right Chiho. Okay then, Chiho you check the front. Ruriko, you check the main building area. And I'll check the courtyard-bell tower area.

"Roger that."

"Yes, Rise." We left the dorms and split off from each other to look for Masaya. _This shouldn't be that hard. Masaya is a six foot two blue haired man with an black leather eyepatch over his left eye and a cybernetic jaw._

 **Masaya's POV**

"Now, for some fresh underwear… there. Well fuck, time to go." I opened the door to my dorm room and headed out to Maria Hall.

 **Ritsuko's POV**

 **10 minutes later.**

 **Outside Maria Hall, Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **Now Playing: Colorless Days- Princess Evangile OST**

I was standing outside Maria Hall with Mitsuki and Konomi, I was there because Ayaka told me not to be at Maria Hall at 3:00 today. Needless to say, I was suspicious. My sister was most likely pulling a prank on me by doing something in the Red Rose society's room so I assembled Mitsuki and Konomi to help me investigate to see if Ayaka was in the building. "I'm sorry to ask for you to accompany me, Mitsuki."

"I don't mind Ritsuko. I got nothing better to do anyways."

"But… I'm really concerned. Out of nowhere she tells me 'don't come to Maria Hall today.'"

"Yes… it certainly is a suspicious statement."

"In addition, my sister is not connected to Maria Hall. She should have no business being here.

"Maria Hall… should be empty right now, shouldn't it?"

"It's 3:00 on a Saturday. I'm sure there's no one here."

"What could Ayaka be doing here, all by herself."

"…Really, I have a bad feeling about this. Let's go." We opened the door and walked into the building. I saw a pair of school shoes and a pair of military grade black boots. I then heard a voice. "Shh… I hear something…"

"Yeah, I heard it too… sounds like it's coming from the Red Rose society room…"

"Ah… a-and one of them sounds like…"

"A gruff male voice with an accent. Which can only belong to…"

"Ah…"

"Ah… wait, Konomi, not so fast." Konomi looked back at us and whispered.

"This is the Tentateur Serpent we're dealing with here! Ayaka's virtues could be in peril!"

"H-H-Her virtues?""

"It's an reasonable assumption. They must have come here to Maria Hall… for an early afternoon rendezvous." _What are they saying. As unpredictable as Masaya is, he would not do something like that._

"Ah… Ayaka…"

"Wait… Konomi!"

 **Five minutes earlier.**

 **Masaya's POV**

 **Now Playing: Mozart/Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra in C Major, K 229 #1- Princess Evangile OST**

It was my first time in the Red Rose Society room. However, it's architecture and décor were the same as any other room in Maria Hall, so I co tell them apart at first glance. There was a chair in the middle of the room that Plaisanterie must have left for me. I sat down on it. I noticed a note on the table next to the chair, I read it said. 'Down to you underwear' _Shite, for a shy lass, she can be straight forward._ Her instructions were direct but at least I allowed to still have my boxers on. _I have a really bad feeling about this._ I fidgeted nervously in my chair. She was apparently telling the truth about the precautions. The building was completely empty. I knew I would be in deep shit If I was seen in my boxers. _But… I wonder if Plaisanterie is really watching me._ Like when I tried to see her at the cathedral, I scanned the room with my SmartVision to see where she could be hiding. When the request was outside, I always felt like someone was watching me, but it would be harder to stay out of sight indoors. The door was right next to me. I kept my eye fixed on it, my body tense. "…Jesus, I wonder how long I'm supposed to stay like this, anyways." And then, as if to justify my budding anxiety, there was a knock on the door "Shite!" I started to panic, I quietly went for my holster on the table to get my M1911A1. The knocking continued, and the door opened a crack. "Fuck!" I raised my pistol at the door to see Ayaka walk in

 **Now Playing: Always at Own Pace- Princess Evangile OST**

"Bonjour."

"A-Ayaka?! Shite! This isn't what it like!" I moved to cover my crotch, a pointless endeavour, as she slowly approached me.

"And what does it look like, I wonder?"

"Ah, no."

"Oh, my." She let out slight squeal of delight, and poked me with a finger.

"So hot… and hard…"

"Ruriko said something similar."

"Oh, no. You two are that close already?"

"How close do you mean?"

"But you're muscles are really hard. You're clothes really mask them." As she spoke, she traced a line down my chest with her finger. "They're very hot too… you don't have a fever, do you?"

"It's because I'm embarrassed."

"Oh, my. But there's nothing to be embarrassed of. We're the only ones in this building, after all." The more I watched Ayaka's placid smile, the more I began to suspect that she knew more that what she was telling me. I decided to voice my suspicions openly.

"Ayaka… did you know I was going to be here like this?"

"Yes, of course. After all, I am Plaisanterie."

"I-Uh-Wha-…" I was so shocked I couldn't even get a word out. "W-Wait a minute here Ayaka. You said that you didn't have a bloody title." If was Ayaka that wrote the love letters then maybe things wouldn't go bad. But instead, she just laughed.

"Man, for an apparent hardcore 'spec ops soldier' you're quite naïve. Hah… but that's what I like about you."

"What?"

"Plaisanterie means joke."

"I- uh… *demonic growling* So… that's what's this had been? *crazed laughter* You mean… that this was all just a bloody lie?!" I was starting to feel enraged that Ayaka had the gall to prank me like this. I let my rage out and kicked over the table, sending the laptop and all the other stuff on it flying. "Why the fuck would you do this to me?!"

"Easy there tiger. I did it because you're cute. And that part wasn't a lie. I'm sorry, I just had to tease you. You're the only guy in this entire school. Hey, what's wrong? You're not super mad right?"

"I'm not just mad. I'm fucking furious!"

"Again, I'm sorry. To be honest, I didn't know how approach a man close to my age."

"…Approach me?"

"That's why I listened to the rumors and watched you for so long. After all, just knowing you're a man doesn't tell me anything about who you really are. Since Rise brought you here, I knew you're at least trustworthy… but I can't just really on other people's opinions. So I watched and I waited, and I finally approached you at the May Festival." When Ayaka was explaining her interest in me, I just had my eye closed and had remembered what Tamie said to me during the May Festival. 'Oh? But you've been her for a whole month… I never knew Ayaka could be so cautious.' "But how to proceed from there… I'm not in any association and we're in different grade levels. You don't really know what I deal with here, Masaya. My reputation around here is not that great."

"I think pulling shit like this to other people would lower your reputation even more…"

"Sorry, sorry."

"…You wanted me to wait around like this?! Don't you even realise how much trouble I could've gotten if say Mitsuki or fucking Marika showed up!" I never really realised until that moment that I noticed that when I get really mad, my speech pattern goes from my 'proper Englishman' to a very improper drunk, cursing up a bloody storm no matter where I am.

"Oh, don't worry. I told Ritsuko and the others not to come here today."

"But still…"

"Please forgive me, Mr. Masaya. I'll do whatever it takes." I couldn't hold back my rage and I started to feel 'The Ripper' start to take over. I tried to fight it, but it overpowered my mind.

"*demonic voice* Whatever it take?"

"Uh… you okay Masaya? You're eye color changed from green to red, also the white part is black and you look like you're glowing…"

"You said… whatever it takes?" As I said this I grabbed her tightly by the shoulders.

"Ah… hey Masaya, that hurts a little." She was so slender, I felt I can brake her with just a little bit of force.

"*demonic laughter* Sounds great… I'm in my underwear, after all…"

"M-Masaya, what's gotten in to you." I was significantly taller than her and I looked straight into her eyes. Her gaze wavered. I looked down even further, my eye tracing the line of her bust. I then looked back up at her eyes and licked my lips, it was the most lecherous face I ever made. "Are you ready…?" I pulled her into a tight embrace and my murderous urges while 'The Ripper' soared as I reflexive pulled out my KA-BAR and held it below Ayaka's chin and next to her throat. She was frightened and gulped nervously. I was able to suppress 'The Ripper' before it can hurt Ayaka, still wanting to pay her back I whispered into her ear. "*normal voice* Just… kidding." *bang* As I said it the door to the room swung open with a bang.

 **Now Playing: Insanity- Princess Evangile OST**

 **Konomi, Ritsuko, and Mitsuki at the same time.** "Ah…"

"Shite!" The three Red Rose society girls burst in with Konomi at the head of the pack. Their faces turned white immediately. I quickly put my knife away before they saw it. "I thought you said no one else would be in the building!"

"I did! I made sure that we were! Ritsuko, what are you doing here?!"

"…That's what I want to know as well, Sister. So… this really was a rendezvous. I'm very disappointed with you too, Masaya."

"Ah… no, it's just uh… it's not what it is, Er, well, it's just…" Ayaka was fumbling with her words and I just turned my head towards in anger.

"No excuses, please. Masaya's state of dress is all the proof I need.

"Actually. Er… there's a reason for that…"

"No… I wish I could believe that it was only a rendezvous. Ayaka, come here quickly! Run!

"W-W-Wait, what?" Mitsuki, failing to noticed Ayaka's confusion, turned to the other two.

"Don't you get it?! Didn't you see the leer on his face when we burst in here?"

"Now hold on, that was just-" Before I could finish my sentence, Konomi cut me off in a load voice.

"Y-Yes… that's right! And did you see how he was holding her? He had her in a death grip and sucking on her neck while holding a knife to her throat.

"Come on, I didn't go that far."

"So you where planning on it?!"

"Now why the fuck would you assume that?!" Instead of answering, Konomi left the room in a hurry. Safe to say, I had a really bad feeling about it.

"Ayaka, what's the matter? He didn't drug you, did he?"

"No, of course he didn't! For heaven's sake… it was all just a joke!"

"Joke…?"

 **Rise's POV**

"Chiho, Ruriko. Did you find him?" We had spent ten minutes looking for Masaya, I started to realize that Masaya was basically a master at stealth, whenever he'd disappear, no one would ever find him unless he gave himself away. We regrouped at Maria Hall, I was hoping Chiho or Ruriko would've found him but that wasn't the case.

"No, we couldn't find him. Not a single trace of him, it's like he disappears out of thin air."

"Dang, this place is the only other place Masaya could be without leaving school grounds."

"But… do you think he'd come here. Maria Hall is deserted at this time of day?"

"Yes. But we should check just in case." We walked into the building. As I stepped inside, Konomi bumped into me and I let out a small squeal.

"Ah, e-excuse me."

"Konomi? Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"I'm going to fetch my naginata!"

"What? You're naginata?"

"Yes! I'm finally going to slay that cybernetic fiend, the Tentateur Serpent!"

"Cybernetic fiend?"

"Tentateur Serpent? Oh crap, Masaya!"

"We should go." We ran over to the White Lily Society room to see it empty.

"What the… there's no one here."

"Let's check the other room. There's seems to be a fuss going on in there." We quickly exited the White Lily Society room and went straight across to the Red Rose Society room to see Mitsuki, Ritsuko, Ayaka, and Masaya in nothing but his underwear.

 **Masaya's POV**

As Ayaka was trying to explain the situation to Mitsuki and Ritsuko, Rise and the others came in and let out a squeal of complete shock. "Ah… wh-what are you people doing?"

"Masaya… why the hell don't you have any clothes on?"

"Rise, you've come just in time. This is the end result of that goal of yours. This… thing's true nature… it's nothing more than a beast that assaults women."

"No… that can't be…"

"Jesus… would you all just listen to me already!" Ayaka yelled at the other girls to get their attention. "It's all my fault. This was just a joke that went too far."

"A joke… then that means 'Plaisanterie' is you, Ayaka?"

"That's right." The whole room fell silent until Ritsuko said something.

"*sigh* So this was all your doing. I should've known."

"Yeah… I've kinda been apologizing the entire time."

"I don't recall you trying to apologize."

"I did to Masaya. I told him I can service him as many times as he wanted, and he forgave me."

"Service him?"

"For God's sake… will you please stop adding lies to you explication!"

"So… in the end… what happened here? You're saying that this thi- Masaya. That Masaya is not at fault here."

"Masaya's not at fault. All the blame should go to my shy, maidenly heart that could only approach him in this matter." The girls look at each other and I let out a angry growl and stared down Ayaka with a dagger for an eye. "Hey come on, that one wasn't a lie."

"…No one said it was. *BAM!* Oh Christ almighty!" The door swung open again with Konomi in her training garbs with a practice naginata in hand.

"I have come at last! Come now, my sisters, leave the rest to-" Before she could finish her sentence I ran up to her and disarmed her and in another fit of rage, I snapped her naginata into four pieces before storming out of the room with my clothes to redress and leave the building. As I walked out of Maria Hall I began to start a ramble on to myself. "Jesus fucking Christ, I'm such a fucking idiot! Here I was thinking someone would take the time out their precious lives to help someone like me regain his fucking humanity! God fucking damnit!"

 **Rise's POV**

 **Now Playing: Colorless Days- Princess Evangile OST**

Ayaka explained the whole situation to us, whether or not she was lying was up to interpretation. "So, that's what happened." I was convinced, Ayaka was infamous for her reckless behavior. But this time, it was clear she had gone too far with a prank. _Too far… it could be I'm just taking pity on Masaya. After all, he's suffered so much, I'm a little surprised he didn't completely snap at all of us, god knows what could of happened._ Ayaka probably wasn't aware of Masaya's extreme loneliness and yearn for friends. How could she though, Masaya kept his personal life a complete mystery, I had just found out about this hours before this situation. "Listen… Ayaka, there's something I need you to know."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I need the Red Rose members to listen, as well. I don't believe Masaya was doing these things because he wanted a girlfriend."

"What do you mean by this, Rise?"

"He told us right before he left for this meeting. Masaya is suffering from extreme loneliness…"

"What?"

"Extreme… loneliness…?"

"It was in the newspaper, so I assume you're aware of his previous circumstances, Ayaka?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"After he left Tsurugigoaka for Yokosuka, he refused to make friends as he didn't want them to be dragged down into his father's financial situation. It was only at his current job that he developed a form of friendship with his co-workers, they were killed in an accident that left him nearly dead. After that, I assumed he developed 'Survivor's Guilt' and cut himself off from people, until he got to Vincennes, where he thought he'd start a new life in a sense."

"Oh, jeez…"

"He wasn't doing those things in the letters to meet a girl, or anything like that. He did it because he wanted to fill the hole in his heart that has been so badly beaten by his personal problems."

"…So, you completely shattered the feelings of a broken man, Sister."

"H-Hey, he didn't seem that mad. He probably just needed to take five…"

"No, Ayaka… he very obviously was furious. He kicked over a table and broke Konomi's naginata into four pieces."

"…Well at least he got to become friends with a beautiful older woman, so it works all out in the end…"

"And who might she be?"

"Me, of course! Don't make me have to say it, it's embarrassing."

"I would believe it Ayaka, if you really were his friend."

"I- *sigh* fine… So I might have gone to far with this one. Look, if it makes you all feel better, I'll go apologize to Masaya right now."

"After what you just did to him, I highly doubt he'll ever want to speak to or see you again."

"Jeez.., you don't have to be so mean about, Ritsuko."

"I may be mean about this, but what you did to him was just cruel."

"Hey Ayaka, I've known Masaya almost all my life. He's not the type to hold grudge, granted that was when I last saw him before coming to Vincennes. Usually a green tea whip cake from **Lavage de Coeur** would cheer him up, Lavage de Coeur is a bakery in town that has really delicious French pastries for affordable prices. Although you never know, he has changed a lot since then. Look, apologize to him tomorrow, and I'm sure he'll accept."

"Thanks for the advice… Chiho."

 **Six Hours Later**

 **Masaya's POV**

 **Now Playing: Calmly and Peacefully- Princess Evangile OST**

I was in my room cleaning the insides of my M1911A1, I noticed a engraving on the slide of the gun, it read 'UNITED STATES PROPRIETY MODEL 1911A1 U.S ARMY' _huh… so this pistol was a pistol manufactured during World War II. The overall design of the handgun looks like a pure bred Colt, but the slide release and trigger feel like Remington-Rand variants, not to mention whoever own this pistol last had gave it a stainless nickel plating and modified it to hold 8 rounds. Speaking of which, I wonder who originally owned this pistol during the war?_ I scanned the serial number on the slide and the search results showed me it's original owner. _Looks like the pistol was issued to a Major, then 1st Lieutenant Evelyn Hyodo of the 1st Marine Division during the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. She used it throughout that battle, at Tarawa, at Pelileu, at Iwo Jima, and finally at Okinawa where she gave the pistol as a gift of respect and friendship to the last surviving commanding officer of the Imperial Japanese Army on Okinawa, Captain Ryuuji Okonogi on the eve of the ceasefire being officially ratified, effectively ending the war with an official armistice signed on August 6th, 1945. The pistol has since been lost to history as it was no longer a property of the United States government, Major Hyodo later admitted that the 'Great Ceasefire Gathering' between the U.S and Japanese forces which gained media attention as a sign of how respectful enemy soldiers were to each other after war's end was organised by herself and Captain Okonogi after they both received word from their respective governments to stand down as they were preparing a massive final battle._ I finished reading the article and took a look at my pistol to see another engraving on the slide near the muzzle written in hiragana, it read. 'To Captain Ryuuji Okonogi, a man who fought with great honor for his country, Semper Fidelis- Major E. Hyodo, 1MarDiv'. Just then I got a knock on my door. "Coming!" I opened the door and saw Ritsuko standing outside. "Oh… Ritsuko."

"Salutations, Masaya."

"Good evening. What's wrong, lass? You look troubled."

"I feel I must apologize for what happened this afternoon."

"Hmm? Oh… for your sister." Ritsuko looked down like a scolded puppy a nodded softly. "Look, It's fine, really."

"My sister does strange things from time to time, but there's no malice behind them."

"Yeah… I know, I also apologise for acting irrationally and destroying your society room's table… and for breaking Konomi's naginata."

"Apology accepted. Listen, I know what she did to you was cruel, but I hope you can forgive her and get along." Watching the stoic Ritsuko act so timid brought an unexpected smile to my face along with a chuckle.

"Ritsuko… you really do care a lot for your sister. So much so that you decided to cover for her."

"I'm not covering for her. I am simply mitigating the consequences of her actions."

"I think those two meanings are the same thing."

"No, they're entirely different. Regardless, I believe my sister truly regrets her actions this time." With that off her chest she gave me a stiff bow.

"Well… pardon my language here. While I was extremely pissed off, I at least got to become friends with someone like Ayaka.

"R-Really?"

"What? Did I say something strange?"

"*giggle* No, not really." She similes at me for once, then I suddenly heard a phone vibrate. "Excuse me, it's a message from my sister." She sounded surprised as she checked her phone. As she looked at the screen, she knitted her brows angrily.

"What is it, love?"

"No… I just really can't believe. I only just finished talking, when…" I tilted my head in suspicion, wondering what Ayaka could of done now. Before I knew it, Ritsuko bowed again and turned with a sigh. Suspicion had me completely controlled and I reflexively called out to Ritsuko.

"Hold it, Ritsuko. Did Ayaka do something stupid again."

"She's lying again." Ritsuko turned back to me, her shoulders slumped. "What Is trying to accomplish? I don't even know anymore…"

"Hey… you can talk to me about it if you want. What did she do now?" Ritsuko silently showed me her phone's screen. The subject of the email was "Help me!". "What the…" The body of the text seemed to be written hurriedly. It read: 'Abdcted by ganhsters! Dp spmething!' "Oh shite… this is." I had an anxiety come over me that left my mouth dry, but Ritsuko was unamused.

"Such attention to detail. She even purposely hit the wrong keys in certain areas."

"…Purposely?" But was that really the case, I thought to myself. "Ritsuko, where's Ayaka right now? She wouldn't be outside school grounds, would she?"

"I don't know."

"Shite… let's check her room. Just in case." Ritsuko seemed dubious, but she didn't argue either as we walked down the hall of the dormitory. We got to Ayaka's room, Ritsuko knocked on the door while I scanned for Ayaka's thermal signature with SmartVision. "She's not in there."

"She might be pretending be out."

"You don't think… Ritsuko, does Ayaka ever leave the school grounds? I'm going to completely honest and say your security is very easy to bypass.

"Ayaka leaves the grounds often. Like you they let here leave the school whenever she wants."

"They just let walk out?"

"When someone tries to leave school grounds without permission, the Gardiane come after the from the guard station." _Not unless you sneak you way out._ "But Ayaka kept going out anyways, our mother, the headmistress, eventually gave up." _Jesus, I keep on forgetting, both Ayaka and Ritsuko or the headmistress' daughters._

"Hmm… if Ayaka went out, there's a chance that this is true. I'm just worried about the 'gangster' part… Those Goons are probably still trying to kidnap girls to sell them off.., Ritsuko, didn't you ever hear? Rise was almost abducted by those bastards once."

"What? Really?!"

"Yeah, so…"

"I had not heard about that, but she would have learned about the gangster from you article on the newspaper. Is it possible to assume the she mixed that information into her message intentionally.

"You're right, but…" I had a bad feeling about this. Ritsuko was Ayaka's Sister so she was probably right, but the facts added up that she may have been kidnapped by the Goons. "Let's check with the Gardiane. They won't talk to me if I go alone, but I'm sure they tell me something if you're with me." Before Ritsuko could give me an answer, I was already walking to the entrance of the dormitory, the tapping of her footsteps started trailing behind me.

"Masaya?"

"What…?" We continue walking as we spoke.

"Why do you believe my sister? She's already tricked you one today."

"I know that, to be honest, I really don't buy it either. But the gangster part has me suspicious, something fishy is going on. The possibility of her being captured is there. Ifs go there and find out she's lying. I'll deal with it personally…" We left the dorms and walked all the way to the Gardiane's post near the gate. At first Captain Suzuki was hesitant to disclose Ayaka's location but I quietly told her that she may have been kidnapped and that I've contacted my commander to stage a hostage rescue. With that, we got the info we needed. Ayaka left around sundown and hasn't been seen since. "*sigh* Now the million dollar question is… Where the bloody hell is she?" It was already 2100 hours and we were told that Ayaka was gone for at least three hours. That time alone could make it that she was already shipped off to a sex slave ring anywhere in world, not just in Japan.

"Well… we do have some idea."

"What, really? Where is she?"

"I don't know, but we can track her from her cell phone from her GPS signal."

"Of course! That's a good idea, how do we do it? All the phones here are encrypted and there GPS signals are accessed through a private server monitored by… the headmistress. So the only way we'll find her location is to talk to your mother. Is she usually home by the time, Ritsuko?" Though it was already close to 2200 hours, there were still lights in the main building on.

"She usually works late, I'm certain that she's in her office right now."

"Alright, then let's go…" As we walked towards the main building, Ritsuko frowned. "*sigh* Be honest with me. You're thinking I'm worrying too much…"

"No… you've convinced me that this is worth investigating, but when I think about facing my mother, I…"

"You're afraid of her, aren't you?" She turned to me, her eyes in an uneasy expression.

"It's you…"

"What?"

"Regardless of the reason, my mother has expressed her hatred for outsiders like you. Especially men."

"Pardon my language here, but I could give a shit about her beliefs. I'll be there whether she likes it or not. Now come one."

 **The Headmistress' Office**

 **Now Playing: Colorless Days- Princess Evangile OST**

"For heavens sake… what a bunch of nonsense." Those were her first words uttered after our explanation. Even as we spoke, I didn't get the sense that the headmistress was worried about her own daughter. On the contrary, she didn't even bother to mask her soured look on her face. "Mr. Okonogi, you don't seem to be aware. Well, perhaps it's only natural."

"…About what?"

"To be blunt, that girl is a compulsive liar. The other students are fed up with her antics. They're all tired of being run roughshod by her lies."

"A compulsive liar? Now I think that's taking it too far."

"You really don't anything about her."

"That may be true, but… the impression I got from her was that her pranks were done in good faith, not with malicious intent."

"Your opinion on the matter is invalid." I was starting to get a little angry. I reflexively started to reach for my M1911A1. "For heavens sake… all the trouble she's caused me. That girl is the first delinquent in Vincennes' history."

"*scoff* You really think she's a delinquent. That's quite the low blow to your own daughter, really says a whole lot about your parenting skills, and that's coming from a guy with divorced family and a bastard father." I had just finished my insult when the headmistress fixed me with a glare.

"She doesn't listen to the teachers. She doesn't follow school rules. And she always leaves school grounds without permission. If that's not delinquent behaviour, then what is according to you, Mr. Okonogi."

"That goes without saying. However, the real question is… Is she hurting anyone?"

"What?" Something about my argument caught the headmistress by surprise, her narrowed eyes widened.

"I won't deny that what she did to me today still pisses me off, but she had the decency to apologise. I don't think a delinquent would ever do that."

"Even if she is not hurting people, she's hurting the reputation of Vincennes. Consider this Mr. Okonogi, Ayaka is down there in the lower world causing mischief. Anything she does there reflects on our school's reputation. Of course I wouldn't expect an edgy accident prone pretend soldier boy outsider like you to understand."

"Mother?! That's was uncalled for. Masaya is more than just an outsider, he's a transfer student."

"Of course it was called for, like Ayaka, this man has no respect for authority whatsoever. Besides, it doesn't matter if he's a transfer student. You aren't starting to side with Rise and this man are you?"

"Of course not. But it is the truth, so…"

"What's that supposed to mean? You know I'm against it no matter what. You can tell that Chairwoman of yours to-" I turned on my audio recording software to see if the headmistress would finish her sentence. However she stopped mid sentence. I decided to chime in to get back to the real reason we were in her office.

"*cough* Excuse me Madam headmistress, getting back to the topic at hand. We need to ask you a favour."

"Favor?"

"Ritsuko told me that you have exclusive access to the server that holds the GPS signals of the school issued cellphones. She told me that you can use a application on you computer to track a student's location. Am I right?"

"…You are. And?"

"We were hoping you'd use the app to tell us where Ayaka is right now."

"And what would you do if I told you?"

"You're really going to ask that question. We're obviously going to go find out where she is and what the bloody hell is she doing." I was really starting to get really fed up with her insults and obliviousness. But as she spoke next, it seemed she wasn't as oblivious as I assumed."

"Have you wiped your memory chip? I told you this is all a big lie." _Jesus fucking Christ, I'm about to put a .45 bullet into her brain._ I couldn't take it any more, before I realised it, I finally let my anger and frustration out.

"We don't fucking know that!" I noticed how loud that was and I took a deep breath and tried to keep a calm voice. "…We don't know that for sure. It could still be true..,"

"To suggest she's been abducted by gangsters is ridiculous. She's just doing this to get attention."

"Mother, that's too far."

"…You despicable blue bloods don't know shit… Tsurugigoaka may seem safe, but they're gangsters that would have you beaten, raped, and shot for a just a little bit of money."

"And? Those types of lowlifes exist everywhere, no matter where you go."

"You don't know by first hand experience, the Yakuza are dangerous and unpredictable. Rise was nearly abducted by those bastards!"

"Rise was? She did this happen? And why wasn't I notified of this until now?" I cursed under my breath, apparently Rise wanted to keep that situation a secret."

"Anyways, putting that aside for now. We need to know where Ayaka is right now."

"This is a gross violation of school rules. Leaving school grounds outside of designated hours is a gross violation of school rules." _Hmph… hasn't stopped me before._ "I cannot overlook a someone trying to break school rules right in front of my own eyes." This was the tipping point for me. Before I knew I started to yell at her.

"Who the bloody hell cares about school rules?! There's no time to be focused on not breaking the rules right now!"

"So the mask is finally off. That's exactly the kind of thing a uncivilized outsider would say." I tightened the grip of my pistol to restrain myself from pulling it out on her. There was something going on that was more important than rules, more important than anything. Why couldn't she see it, I wondered.

"If you want to punish me afterwards, go right ahead. I don't care."

"Masaya…"

"I'm a bloody 'outsider', after all. So as far as I'm concerned, Vincennes' rules can fuck off!"

"My… you've even resorted to using vulgar words to insult this institution."

"I'm going to ask you one last time. Where the fuck is Ayaka…?"

"Are you suggesting I break rules myself."

"Don't you care about your own bloody daughter!" I slammed my fist onto her desk, It left deep indent in the polished wood, my fist was covered in splinters. "Maybe she is lying! But there's also a chance that she's in terrible danger! You can punish me later if you want, but I'm going to save her, and I don't give a shit to what you say otherwise! Now for fuck's sake, where is Ayaka right now!"

"Mother, Masaya is correct." Ritsuko was standing passively besides me, but now fully supported me for the first time, the headmistress gave a cold glare to her younger daughter.

"You've been poisoned by the words of this lowlife machine, too. I'm utterly heartbroken, I thought you were the daughter that agree with me on this matter."

"Mother!"

"Now I'm only going to tell you once… get out of my office." I was furious beyond recognition, I was so pissed off, I let 'The Ripper' easily take over my body and do something I thought at the time was bizarre.

"*demonic growl* No… You will give me the location of Ayaka…" I waved my hand in front of the headmistress, she looked at me in annoyance.

"What are doing? I told you to get out of my office."

"…You will give me the location of Ayaka." After the second time I ordered her to give me Ayaka's location, the unusual happened. The headmistress' eyes went dead and her tone became very flat and monotone, while repeating what I said.

"…I will give you the location of Ayaka…" The headmistress' started typing on her keyboard. "…Would you like a printout of her location…?"

"No… I'll just setup an uplink to your computer real quick." I pulled out a USB flash drive and plugged it in to the headmistress' desktop and started downloading Ayaka's GPS signal. As soon as the download finished, I plugged the flash drive into my micro computer on my arm and sent the map to my neural HUD. _Huh…? Her last GPS signal was at my old apartment._ "Ritsuko, I've got Ayaka's location. She's on the outskirts of the city. I need to ask though, do the buses run at this hour?"

"…No, the last trip of the day was an hour ago…"

"Shit! Looks like I'll have to find a way. Ritsuko, is there any bikes at the teacher's parking lot?"

"I don't know, I've never been to that area of the school."

"*sigh* Son of a bitch… If we can't find a conventional ride, then I'll call up a guy I know, he'll get us to Ayaka's location in record time. Shit, one more thing…" Before I stepped out of the headmistress' office, I ordered her to contact the Gardiane that we were leaving, she never broke contact with the wall in front of her while she called the Gardiane post. "Come on, we need to stop by my room real quick, I'm gonna need some gear for this." We started running to the dormitory when I ask a question to Ritsuko. "So… I take it that your mother and sister really don't get along." Ritsuko didn't respond with words, just a vague nod of her head. We made it back to my dorm room, I told Ritsuko to stay outside while I get my gear. I picked up my personal phone and called Yusuke. "Yusuke, it's Masaya. Are you near Tsurugigoaka right now?"

"No, I'm just chilling here back at the Hiryu in Yokosuka. Why do ask, bro?"

"A student here at Vincennes has been captured by some local thugs, I fear that she might be in danger, it's not much to ask of you but… tell Yanase that a Vincennes student has been captured but don't specify who it is. Request for a helicopter to get you to Tsurugigoaka as fast as possible and take up a position with a sniper rifle near the location I'll send to you portable radar,"

"And what are you going to do, Mas?"

"…I'll sneak in and quietly extract our HVI(High Value Individual)."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll talk to you later, Mas." Yusuke hung up and I went to the suitcase Yanase gave me a few days ago and pulled out the SV Sneaking Suit and went to change into it. _Jesus, does this really have to be so tight, especially in the stomach and chest area..,_ I put back on my coat and buttoned all the buttons to hide the suit from Ritsuko as much as possible. Before I went for the door I I remembered the dark blue piece of cloth that Rise gave me when we first met. "Your _face is very flushed, use this to clean off the sweat. Don't worry about giving it back, I can just get a new one."_ I opened a drawer in my desk and pulled out the cloth. I put in the drawer after I first came to Vincennes and never touched it again. I noticed how it can fit around my head a decided to fasten the cloth into a bandana around my forehead with a lot a slack hanging over my back. After I tied the cloth around my head I had a series of strange visions.

" _Soldiers of the great Japanese Empire! Hold your heads up high! The defense of Naha from the Americans will be the battle where we show our resolve for our great emperor and our great nation!"_

" _Ryosuke! It is up to you now to save our country. Take this sword and bandana as a mark of our family's spirit!"_

" _Yuuji… this bandana was once your grandfather's bandana. He gave it to me in 1965 when he was killed in battle to save me and Emperor Hedeki. I don't want you to worry, but there may be a day where I pass in battle like your grandfather and if I do, this bandana and sword will be yours now. And If you die in battle, it'll go to your children.". The last visions we're of both my great grandfather and my grandfather seemingly disappearing into thin air,_ then my uncle slowly dying in a raging inferno. Woah… that was weird." With that I had finished gearing up and proceeded to walk outside. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go." We left the dormitory and at the courtyard I turned to Ritsuko. "Ritsuko, I need you to stay here."

"No, I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"After everything you've said, I've started to worry."

"Ah, right… But will it be okay? The Gardiane might let me go out, but I'm sure they'll stop you."

"We'll deal with that when it happens, now let's hurry." She started going for the Gardiane post, I smiled a little. _Hmph… maybe the headmistress was right, I really am influencing Ritsuko's way of thinking._ There was something nice seeing Ritsuko assert herself, I felt like she saw me be direct and assertive and now she's trying to replicate it. We made to the teacher's parking lot to find all the cars. "Damn, I would hot wire one but I'm pretty sure I could get expelled for auto theft."

"What about using on of the bicycles here."

"No… It'll take to long. Ayaka is at the edge of the city, as far away from the mountains as possible."

"Masaya, there appears to be a motorcycle at that corner." I turned to where Ritsuko was pointing to see a metallic black Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R at the corner of the parking lot.

"What the hell? Why would a teacher need this?" I noticed a envelope was attached to the motorcycle's throttle. _This motorcycle will get you to Ayaka's location in a very short amount of time. It's yours to use as you see fit- Best Regards, Takashi._ "Of course you'd help me in a situation like this."

"Masaya? Who are you referring to?"

"No one special… just a friend." In the envelope was the keys to the motorcycle and I started up the bike. "Okay, It started. Ritsuko, you're going to have to hold on to me while we're riding. This thing can go up to 299 km/h." Ritsuko nodded and got on the bike, her small frame barely putting any more stress to the bike. We slowly approached the Gardiane's post at the front gate, the gate was already opened but Captain Suzuki was standing out waiting for me.

"Hold it right there, Sergeant Okonogi!"

"That's Lieutenant to you, Captain. What do need, the headmistress should have already contacted you.

"Her instructions, …Lieutenant Okonogi, only applied to you. She said nothing about Ms. Kitamikado."

"Perhaps my mother forgot to say it. Or, if you'll beg my pardon, you simply misheard?"

"I don't think so…"

"Regardless, I encourage you to speak to her again."

"…Wait right here." _Damn, not even I could of come up with a convincing lie like that. I probably would of tried to bullshit my way through._

"Now…!"

"*chuckle* Of course." I pinned the throttle and the bike revved up before we went speeding down the mountain road.

"W-Wait! Lieutenant Okonogi!" I heard Captain Suzuki desperately cry out for but I keep going, I had my tactical visor down and I swiftly went down the mountain at full speed, slowing down once we got to the base of the mountain.

"Whew, that was something. I'm impressed Ritsuko, you've really outdone yourself today. I thought you would just hold me back, but you're pulling your weight just fine."

"It's nothing, really. I have a question, though. Why did Captain Suzuki refer to you as a Sergeant before you corrected her to Lieutenant Okonogi? That's something only military personnel would be referred to as."

"*sigh* Look, I'm not a regular student. Promise me not to tell anyone this. I'm actually a soldier in the Imperial Japanese Army. 2nd Lieutenant Masaya Okonogi, codenamed 'Raiden', of the 1st Imperial Commando Regiment, I've been lying to all of you this whole time. That story about me being killed in a EOD accident was something I told Rise when she first asked me about why I had a cybernetic arm, the same goes for how I lost my eye and lower jaw. Those times I disappeared for a couple days were because I was on missions in Myanmar and Pakistan. The man name Yusuke that I keep referring to is my squad's support gunner, he's on his way here to help."

"That's… this is beyond bizarre. But… I understand, you had nothing to fall back to in life. So the military was the only option you had."

"…Right, now enough talking. Let's go get Ayaka."

 **No POV**

 **Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **2130hr**

 **Now Playing: Turmoil- Princess Evangile OST**

"Shit… can't even let my guard down for a second. Why do Vincennes girls need to be so feisty? First that pink haired bitch with her robot 'daddy' and now this blue haired slut." The Goons underling was putting an bandage on his hand, a piece of it missing from when Masaya bit him months earlier. "Still can't believe that little freak would bit my hand, guess the Imperial Army would tell a guy like him to do that"

"Let me go!" Ayaka was bound by her legs and arms with a tight cord.

"Hurts, don't it. Well you hurt me first." The underling pointes to his rapidly swelling cheek. "And you sent a text out, too. Geez… you're a sneaky one." They had only tied her up in a perfunctory fashion before. Now, the cord bit righty into her wrist. It was impossible for Ayaka to move.

"Your bastard…" Ayaka scowled at the pair. She had great confidence in her glare, but she knew she couldn't scare people with a gaze like Masaya could.

"Hope we can make good money off this bitch."

"Yeah, I wanna get out of this place as soon as possible."

"Huh? Boss, you seriously believed that old geezer about the ghosts

"Shut up Kiyoshi! What if I did?"

"There's no such thing as ghosts, Boss."

"Whatever… Here, you do it. I don't know how this new age cellphones work."

"Tsk… Right, I forgot that you're the only guy in Japan under 70 to still have a old flip-phone from like 2002." 45 minutes before, Ayaka had just left a bakery called Lavage de Coeur. She had a bag containing Masaya's favorite pastry according to Chiho, Green tea whip cake. Thinking to herself she thought that this would be a good gift to Masaya after what she did to him today, she didn't notice a car slowly approaching her from behind. Then suddenly, the car door opened. At that moment, a hand lashed out, pulling Ayaka into the car in a split second. Then the car sped away. No one even noticed what had happened. Her mouth was sealed with tape and her arms were bound behind her. She was finally starting to get scared. It didn't seem real at first, but the unpleasantness of the tape and the pain of the bonds on her wrist, made it unquestionably real. The signs of the street lights streaming past her only caused her fear to be aggravated even more. She had no idea where they were taking her. After finishing his work, the man who had bound Ayaka had moved from the back to the front passenger seat. "Hey Boss, want me to drive."

"Nah, I'm fine. Just watch over the girl, Kyoshi."

"Eh, don't worry about it, I tied her up really good. But this shit better go as planned. We went through the money we got out of 'RoboCop' quicker than I thought."

"He cleared his debt… just move on already."

"That fucker bit off a piece of my damn hand! Like hell I'm ever going to move on from that! Hey girly, that's a Vincennes uniform, isn't it? That's the school where all the blue blood chicks go, right?" Ayaka couldn't respond to his question, she noticed however that the bonds were loose. Apparently the underling was in such a rush that he didn't properly tie the cord, Ayaka slowly twisted her wrist and broke free from the bonds. After she sent the text message to Ritsuko, the slightest movement gave her away, and the boss sent his underling flying back into the back seat.

"Y-You should really try to run, you know."

"What?"

"There's a GPS on my phone, let's just say that I know a guy that can make your deaths look like an accident."

"Yeah right… Hey, Boss! What do we do about that."

"She's obviously bluffing, remember, she goes to a blue blood school, she can't possibly know a hitman. Look, the sooner we get this ransom, the quicker we can get out of this place. Now hurry up and get her family on the phone. As for that text she sent, I doubt anyone believed her." Their words hit her where she was most sensitive. Of course that was the natural conclusion to come to, but… _Ritsuko probably didn't believe me._ Ayaka thought. But if not Ritsuko, then who could she of sent it to? She didn't have any particularly close friends, either. _Masaya…_ For love reason, the man she had just recently met popped up in her mind.

"Oh, here we go. 'Dad'. This is it. Heh… not 'Daddy', huh?" With that loathsome comment, he pressed the call button and held the phone up to his ear. "Ah… good evening. I've got your daughter in custody and… Huh? No way, I ain't the cops. Huh? Friend? The hell are you talking about, this is a kidnapping, ya damn idiot. Huh? Lying? I ain't lying! This is the damn truth! Ah, geez… tsk. Here, you explain it to this moron, 'Daddy' ain't believing me." The underling was kind enough to cover the receiver when he said that, then pressed the phone towards Ayaka's face.

"Hello? Hello?"

"F-Father, it's me, it's Ayaka."

"Aya dear, is this another one of your pranks."

"N-No! This time it's true!"

"Please, stop it already. I told your friend, too. Stop doing these ridiculous things to get spending money."

"F-Friends?" Had her father confused the Goons for friends of her's? _But, I don't have any male friends._ Did her father even realize that? No, of course he wouldn't. "Um… Dad."

"Aya, if you don't stop doing this, your mother is going to get angry again. Look, I'll keep this to myself. But whatever you do, don't play tricks on your mother. She gets really unmanageable when In a rage. Okay? Bye, now…"

"Wait! Dad!" *beep*

"Well… what is it?"

"Looks like she got cut off."

"On the phone?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Beats me… sounds like the guy on the other end wasn't believing her."

"He didn't believe she got kidnapped?"

"Looks like it."

"Even though you were talking to him? Hmm… That's some cold folks you got there."

"…Because I'm the boy that cried wolf…"

"What? …H-hey, you mean, you're really a dude. How the fuck does that work, with a face like a model and the tits of a pornstar!"

"You're a fucking retard, Kyoshi…" But that wasn't the only reason. Ayaka's family really didn't want her anyways. The realization that her family didn't really care for here hurt her so much, she started bursting into tears.

"Ah fuck, she's starting to cry. Jesus, what a pain in the ass."

"Hey, Kyoshi. Go buy us some smokes."

"Right…"

 **Masaya's POV**

We made it to my old apartment, I took a long look at the run down building, I still remembered the moment I walked in that cold March night to find my father had abandoned me and left me to die. I turned off the motorcycle and instructed Ritsuko to get off. "I hope those two wankers haven't moved by now."

*Radio sound* "Mas… this is Yusuke. I'm in position near the objective, I got you two in my scope. Look for a flashing light." I turned around to see a flashing light in the distance. I used my zoom feature to see Yusuke on a roof of another house a few kilometres away with his SCAR-H battle rifle fitted with a 8x thermal scope and a suppressor, he also had night vision goggles on.

"Alright I see you. Make sure you're rifle is set to semi-auto mode. Don't want you to end up hitting me or Ritsuko.

"So that's the girl next to you. Hey, is she single?"

"I don't know, but she's definitely illegal, she only 15, Yus…"

"Damn… Ah well, I was worth a try. Anyways, I got you covered from here. They get close and I'll put a bullet in to their head."

"No… we can't do that… this is an off-the-books assignment, can't afford any fatalities. Lethal force is not authorised, if you got to shoot, aim for the legs."

"Roger. Speaking of which, how are you gonna sneak in?

"Let's just say I know a way in. Raiden, out."

"Is this the place?"

"Yeah…"

"…That's impressive. One look at a map and you found your way here perfectly."

"…Because I had the map displayed on my HUD(Heads Up Display)."

"Mas! Heads up, one of the crooks is outside coming your way."

"Shite! Sorry, Ritsuko…" I pulled her into a embrace and pulled her down and pretended to be making out with her.

"Hey, this isn't a sex hotel. Get the fuck out of here and get a room!" I just waved my hand at him as a sign of not caring what he said, The underling just scoffed and walked off.

"Hey Mas, I thought you said she was illegal."

"…I'm still 16, Yus. Besides I didn't actually kissed her. Just keep track of the underling." I let go of Ritsuko and checked to see if the underling had turned back to see us. "Sorry about that, Ritsuko. I had to think up of something quick."

"No, it's understandable. You needed to remain undetected." I took Ritsuko's hand and led her two the bottom of the stairs and explained to her who the underling was. "That wanker that walked by us was one of Ayaka's kidnappers.

"Ah… how do you know that."

"Let's just say I've had a couple run in's with him on multiple occasions. Give me a second. Yusuke, did the man come from the first or second floor?"

"He came down from the second floor, I got two heat signatures in one of the rooms, one of an old man and the other being a young woman. Sound like you target, Mas?"

"Yeah, that's our HVI, keep me posted, out. Okay, Ritsuko. I need you to stay down here. Here, take my radio, Yusuke will give a call if the underling comes back. If things go south I need you to call Yusuke with the radio for him to call the cops for a hostage rescue team." I gave her my radio and preceded to take off my coat to reveal my sneaking suit to Ritsuko. I attached the suppressor to my M1911A1 and gave my coat to Ritsuko to hold. I then jumped onto the roof. Ever since I was a kid, I had a weird ability to jump really high, along with many other anomalies. I got on top of the roof and slowly approached the secret passageway into my old apartment room. I crawled inside and made my way to the vent in my old closet.

 **Ayaka's POV**

With the underling gone, the boss took out a cigarette from his breast pocket and started smoking. "C'mon, don't cry. Kids raise themselves even if they don't got no parents. Kiyoshi was abandoned by his parents when he still an infant. I took him in and raised him like my own son. I sympathized with him. My mother died when I was born and my father was a hard on me, he was a bastard who spent his time gambling, drinking, and whoring women, I relate to that Okonogi kid in that regard, too." I wasn't sure what to do, the old man was trying to comfort me in his own way. I did wonder how did he know who Masaya was. He's just sitting there, with his back turned against me, talking about things that happened in his life like 80 years ago. I was still crying and all I could think about was my family and Masaya. _I don't get why I'm constantly thinking about Masaya._ I had just met him yet, I couldn't get the thought of him out of my mind. But Ritsuko seemed fond of him. She would probably go to Masaya for help and he's probably got a whole elaborate plan lined up for this. _Yeah… right. I don't think Masaya doesn't hold grudges, unlike what Chiho told me. He probably just scoffed and closed the door on Ritsuko._ It was too much of a day dream. After what I did to him, I doubt he'd believe much more than Ritsuko. And even If he did believe me, there was no way he'd ever rescue me.

"Anyways, that's how I ended up on a tuna boat, this was back in '74, the captian was a real good guy." As the man continued talking I saw the closet door slide open a little. I was frightened and it left me unable to talk. _No, there's no way that it's the ghost that man was talking about._ I stared at the screen and saw the little slit grow wider until…

 **Now Playing: Courage- Princess Evangile OST**

 **Masaya POV**

I opened the screen door of the closet slowly and say Ayaka laying on the floor looking straight at me. I saw her frightened expression and held my finger over my mouth in a sign to stay quiet.

"What the?"

"Hmm… what is it?"

"Ah… nothing. Please continue your story." I slowly stepped out of the closet and slowly approached Ayaka, keeping my eye on Ayaka and my gun aimed at the boss in case he gets suspicious. I pulled out my KA-BAR and carefully started to cut the cords around her legs and arms, the boss didn't notice a thing. All that time, Ayaka's eyes were looked on me, I whispered In her ear. "There's an opening above the closet. We can use it to get out."

"A-Alright." Ayaka slowly got up and grabbed a paper bag laying right next to her. It made a small crackle and I tightens my grip on the pistol still aimed at the back of the boss's head. Thankfully, the boss didn't hear.

"Shite, that was close. Now go, get in the closet." Ayaka nodded and made her way quietly into the closet, I was slowly getting back to the closet door to make sure the boss didn't hear me. I closed the door, and turned on my SmartVision and selecting the Night Vision feature, I then handed a pair of night vision goggles I had with me.

"How did you…?"

"I'll explain later. Let's just the bloody hell out of here. That board on the top is loose. You're right under it, now get in there. Just one thing. Do you think you can fit through the hole?"

"I'm not sure, I got a pretty big butt."

"Then I guess we'll see if you can fit, climb up. Don't worry, I'll be right behind you."

"Masaya, I'm not sure I can reach the opening, can you give me a boost up?"

"Roger that." I crouched down and held out my hands and told Ayaka to step on them, I then lifted her up and she started to climb inside the opening. I then jumped up into the opening and we started crawling our way to the exit. We climbed out of the hole onto the roof of the complex, she got to the edge when she stopped.

"How are we gonna get down? It's at least a 15 foot drop, and I'm not very athletic."

"We don't have much of a choice, You'll be fine. Now jump."

"Okay…Ah, can you hold this for me?" Ayaka handed me the bag

"What the bloody hell's in here."

"*giggle* You'll find out later."

"When you jump, make sure to roll immediately after you feet touch's the ground, that'll evenly spread out the force of the impact." Ayaka stepped forward and looked down at the ground, she jumped, however she didn't roll in time and I saw her sprain her ankle pretty bad. "Shit! Ayaka!" I jumped down from the roof and ran up to her. "You okay?"

"Agh… I can't move my leg, I think it's sprained."

"I carry then, hold on tight." I grabbed Ayaka's arm and picked her up and carried her bridal style. "Ritsuko's is in front of the building waiting for you."

 **No POV**

Ritsuko had been waiting for 10 minutes since Masaya sneaked into the building, her fingers were on the PTT button on Masaya's radio but she hadn't heard any commotion, specifically gunfire from inside. "Ritsuko, this is Lieutenant Kaido, the other kidnapper is on his way back, recommend you hide somewhere. Don't worry, I see Mas with your friend, he just jumped off the roof." Ritsuko started to run for the corner of the building when Masaya ran out from the other side of the building.

"H-Hey, it's that Okonogi kid!" The underling started to run towards the trio, he was all the way near the end of the ride but was pretty fast.

 **Masaya's POV**

"Shit! I can't get my pistol since I'm holding Ayaka! Ritsuko! Grab my pistol, now!"

"What?! I can't bring myself to use a weapon that can kill a man."

"Mas he's coming right for you, looks like he pulled out his Tokarev. I can't land a clear shot, he's moving too fast."

"Listen Ritsuko, he's got a gun too, and he won't hesitate to kill you. Now grab my pistol! Don't think, just aim for his legs and take the shot when he's in your sight!"

"O-Okay, fine!" Ritsuko grabbed my M1911A1 from my holster and aimed it at the underling, who also pointed his pistol at me and Ayaka.

"Now! Take the shot, Ritsuko!"

"…God, forgive me."

*suppressed gunshot*

 **Now Playing: Warmth is Gone- Fire Emblem Fates OST**

"Agh… motherfucker!" The underling was shot in the left leg by Ritsuko, the momentum he had built up caused him to stumble and trip just meters away from us. I saw Ritsuko was trembling heavily and she dropped the gun and fell to ground holding her head. This action reminded me of when I first fired a gun and killed a man. The buckle of my legs and the beat of my heart increasing as I was filled with adrenaline rush from killing another human being I payed Ayaka down and went to comfort Ritsuko still reeling from the shock from what she had just did.

"Are you okay, Ritsuko?" I crouched down to be eye level with her as she sat in a ball.

"No… I just did something that caused me to hurt someone, I used a tool of murder to hurt another human being. I feel so lightheaded, I can't even feel my legs."

"…It's combat high. You never have been in a situation where you had to use a gun on another person. Your heart isn't used to the sensations that go on when engaged in a gunfight, it's just adrenaline, it'll go away after a while. But there's something you need to realise, you saved us from that wanker. He wasn't planning on letting us live, he had every intention to kill us, and you had no other choice but to act in self defense and incapacitate him."

"Tell me something, Masaya. As a commando, have you ever killed another man? If so… have you ever enjoyed it? You seemed like you were not completely against killing Ayaka's kidnappers, it was only because this wasn't an actual assignment from your superiors that you relented from using lethal force."

"I… *sigh* When you have seen the things I've seen, all the horrors of this world… you become numb to things like killing another person to protect what you perceive as something worth protecting. Killing is murder no matter how you look at it… just because I'm a soldier, it doesn't make it any less wrong… But if I had to kill for the sake of protecting those I swore to protect, then I'll carry out the terrible deed no matter how those I protect perceive me. Heh… you probably despise me even more now, I just admitted to have killed people before. I already know that I'm going to Hell for all the terrible things I've done, but better it be me, a nobody with no future that should of died in an accident, than someone like you. A gentle soul that resonates a feeling of warmth around those around you. Now come on, love. Dry those tears, I wouldn't want to see Vincennes' Belle Epine to be in a depressed state. I want Rise's victory to be a well fought one on both sides. I stood up and extended my hand to Ritsuko, she eagerly took it and I pulled her up from the ground, also going to pick up my pistol. To show Ritsuko I didn't enjoy the thrill of battle, I ejected the magazine of my pistol and pulled back the slide to eject the chambered bullet, I then released the slide and put the pistol back in my holster before putting back on my coat. Yusuke came to meet us as we prepared to leave.

 **Now Playing: The Important Times- Princess Evangile OST**

"So… I guess this is mission accomplished, huh?"

"Yeah… I can't take my motorcycle to get to Vincennes, there's three of us and even then, Ayaka sprained her leg pretty bad."

"Sorry, I haven't properly introduced myself to your friends. 2nd Lieutenant Yusuke Kaido of the 1st Imperial Commando Regiment, I'm pretty sure Mas here has mentioned me to you guys before."

"Yes, he speaks highly of you. He's say that you are someone he can rely on in a bad situation."

"Wow… never thought you'd compliment me like that to your friends, man. Hey Mas, I got it. You walk Ritsuko and Ayaka back to Vincennes while I take the bike back to the school for you. Speaking of which. Who the hell gave you this nice ass bike?"

"Heh… someone we've run into at the right moment on two now three occasions."

"Takashi… I swear that guy is stalking us. I also feel he's knows a little too much about future events, I kinda creeps me out. Anyways, you stay safe Mas. And treat these girls right, okay?"

"Whatever you say, **Brooklyn.** " I noticed Yusuke's nicknaming tendencies start to rub off on me as I unexpectedly gave him a nickname. I handed Yusuke the keys and sped off to Vincennes to drop the bike and then take a bullet train back to Yokosuka. We left the area too and started to head back to Vincennes, walking the entire way to. For the most part the trip up was silent, Ayaka was moaning in pain as her leg hurt and Ritsuko hadn't fully recovered from her combat high yet.

"You and Lieutenant Kaido seem close."

"Yeah, not gonna lie. I kind of didn't like him at first, but that guy has a way of changing people's opinions of him with a one on one chat. I guess I just grew to respect him as a man and fellow soldier."

"Man… today was something. Hey Ritsuko, can you get this bag from me?"

"What even is this… Ayaka, you're seriously telling me that all this trouble was for a small cake…"

"Not just any cake. This is Green tea whip cake, according to Chiho, this is one Masaya's favorite foods. Plus I needed to stretch my wings, I hadn't gone out in two weeks.

"Sister, the cake is crushed. How can Masaya eat it?"

"I doesn't matter to me, I'll still eat when we get back. Just because it's crushed, doesn't mean it isn't edible."

"Yeah… Hey, Masaya. Sorry for what I did to you earlier today. I realize that I went way to far. I just didn't now how to approach you. You just seem so distant and reserved, I thought that maybe you needed to let loose a little and laugh, your still a teenager after all."

"I accept you're apology. And I'll admit that I was wrong too, it's just that I thought some would take the time out of their lives to care about me. Growing up after my mother divorced my father, I never really received sympathy from people besides Chiho and her family I just kept my emotions bottled up and just when I thought that I can let go of these problems, when it turned out to be a prank. I just couldn't help it at the time to be mad and start breaking things in a fit of rage.

"Heh… It looks like all worked out in the end."

"Right… You guys promise me this. From this point on, tonight never happened… We won't talk about this to anyone."

"You saved my sister, I'll do whatever you want as payment."

"Same. I'd honestly want to forget today. You know my situation was so bad that father didn't believe me."

"If I'm being honest Ayaka, If it wasn't for Masaya, I would've not believed you as well.

"Well, at least you saved me before things got bad." We made it back to Vincennes. Captain Suzuki was waiting for us as the gates opened, I gave her the run down on what happened and let us through, I took Ayaka to her room and parted ways with Ritsuko for the night. Of course I gave her a sign of reassurance to not look back at the past and pretend all that happened didn't actually happen.

 **May 16th, 2011**

 **1600hrs**

 **Vincennes Private Girls School, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

At Ayaka's request we decided not to tell the headmistress what happened. "Sorry, I just don't want to get another boring lecture from my mother."

"Hmph… I don't blame you. I don't mind keeping it a secret either."

"But, you're a hero. Imagine if you told Tamie about this. I bet you're approval ratings would skyrocket.

"I'm not a hero, I was just making sure those bastards didn't try and abduct more girls, that's all." Although it was smart to play it safe and not tell anyone, I really would have loved to see the headmistress' face when I told her the truth. I obviously had my own reasons not to disclose the information about that night. I was going to make damn sure Ritsuko and Ayaka were the only ones that knew who I really was.

"It feels like it's been weeks since we were able to organize a meeting without a particular cyborg disappearing before we can notice."

"*chuckle* Geez, I wonder who that handsome devil could be…"

"What happened to you? You been a little sluggish all day. You weren't working again were you?"

"Yeah… my muscles are pretty sore. I had to go all the way to Hokkaido yesterday to dispose of dud bomb that the Army dropped during their routine flight training. I'm still a little jet lagged from the train ride back."

"You're muscle are sore?" _Well I did have to carry a big breasted woman for over two hours._

"Wow… That's cool how you can just travel around the country because of your job."

"Eh… it's not as great as it seems. We're only there to work, not go around the cities. Sometimes, we have to go all the way to the real rural areas in Japan." Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." The door opened and Ayaka walked in, much to the surprise of all of us in the room.

"Salutations."

"Oh my… Ayaka."

"It's unusual to see you here, Ayaka."

"*giggle* Yeah, I guess you right, Ruriko. Hey, Rise, you're the leader of the White Lily society, right?

"Ah? Yes, yes I am. Why do you ask, Ayaka?"

Because I wanted to make a request. Can I join as an affiliate, I want to help you all out with you fight for gender integration."

"You're joking, right? You're interested in this matter?" Rise and even myself were quite surprised, When I told Rise about Ayaka, at first she didn't seem that hopeful that she would accept, but instead, it appeared that Ayaka went to use to join.

"Oh sorry. To be honest, I'm not all that interested in the activities the Associations. However…" Ayaka broke off and turned to me, and let out a giggle. "I'm very interested in Masaya here." She place a hand on my shoulder. "I want him to stay at this school. You don't mind if that's my motivation, right?"

"Y-Yes, I don't mind, but…"

"Wow, really? That's great! Okay, everyone, I'm looking forward to working with you all. Even you, Pankuu."

"Kuu!"

"As proof of our new friendship, I brought cake and bread for everyone. Okay everyone, let's go have tea in the garden!" We all stared in silence as Ayaka walked out with Panterbell 'kuuing' and running right behind her.

"Ah, Ayaka…?"

"Huh, what is it?"

"What exactly did you mean when you said you were interested in Masaya?"

"Oh, it means exactly what you think it does."

"Are you joking with us again?"

"Nope, I made a promise to Masaya that I'll be honest, it was one of the compromises we came up with after what happened between us. Well, let's get a move on. The weather's great outside today." Ayaka walked out with no one following after her.

"…Well, she has cake out. Heh, I do love me some cake, so if you'll ladies excuse me."

"Easy there, 'Pretty Boy'. Yesterday, I told Ayaka that you used to love that French pastry shop in the city. Does this have to do with that?"

"No, she did by me a green tea whip cake as an apology for all the shit that happened on Saturday. I had it when I got back from Hokkaido. I say, in all that time I was away from Tsurugigoaka, I'm glad that Lavage de Coeur hasn't changed one bit. Well, I will meet you lasses outside." The girls were still just sitting in their chairs, I tried to get them to move and go eat so I can avoid a conversation about Ayaka all of a sudden being interested in the society, but of course, my efforts were in vain. One by one they all grabbed an arm and Chiho went for my shirt.

 **Now Playing: Feigning Ignorance- Princess Evangile OST**

"Since when when did you get so chummy with her?"

"What?"

"With Ayaka."

"Uh… well, I wouldn't say we're that close."

"My, there's a lot that you won't say, isn't there, Masaya."

"Th-That's not what I meant."

 **Rise and Chiho.** "Hmph!"

"Ow! Jesus, are you trying to fucking choke me out!"

"Hey, what are all doing? Aren't you coming?" And so… the girls of the White Lily Society were the only people, outside Ayaka, Ritsuko, Yusuke, and myself who know what happened that Saturday night. Of course, I lied on somethings about the events like my reveal to Ritsuko about my status as an Imperial Commando and Yusuke's involvement in the rescue.

 **End of Chapter 8**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 9: The Meaning of the Scar and my revision of Chapter 1: Welcome to Vincennes. As always, if you want, please leave a comment or review, I'll be sure to read them. Until next time- Shepherds12**


	10. Chapter 9: The Meaning of the Scar

**Chapter 9: The Meaning of the Scar**

 **May 20th, 2011**

 **Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **1700hrs**

I was sitting on my chair in my dorm room when my phone rang. "Hello?"

"Masaya, it's Colonel Yanase. I need you at the Hiryu ASAP."

"Easy Colonel, is everything okay?"

"It's the Chinese, they attacked a Imperial Army FOB in India."

"They finally started their plan to invade all of Asia." India was the first target Takashi was warning me that the Chinese will attack. After India it would be Iran, then Afghanistan, then finally China. The Chinese had already invaded Afghanistan but were held back by the Afghan Army with the help of a covert CIA team. "I'll be right there, Colonel." I hang up my phone and grabbed my coat and suitcase with my armour. I snuck out of Vincennes and got on my motorcycle and rode to Yokosuka.

 **1930hrs**

 **IJN Hiryu, Imperial Japanese Navel Base Yokosuka, Yokosuka, Japan**

I got aboard the Hiryu where I parked my motorcycle in the hanger bay then took an elevator to the bridge where Colonel Yanase was. "Colonel, Lieutenant Okonogi has arrived."

"Masaya, good to see you again, kid." Yanase shook my hand with his right hand and patted my shoulder with his left.

"Good to see you too Colonel. So, what's the game plan to deal with the situation?"

"I'll explain in the briefing room. Your team is already in there." We walked from the bridge to the lower decks to the briefing room. "Lieutenant, call the room to attention."

"Right. Colonel on deck!" I yelled into the room and the commandos all got up from their chairs and stood at attention.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Okonogi. If you can please, hook up you're arm computer to the screen and go to the file I sent you."

"Yes, Sir." I hooked up my computer and selected a file named 'FOB 23 Counteroffensive' and the plans showed up on the table.

"Look at this piece of work. General Shang Zhou, Supreme Commander of the People's Liberation Army. And one of the Secretary Generals of the Chinese Communist Party. This guy is the main war hawk in the whole of China. A veteran of the Third Sino-Japanese War in 1965 and a blood relative to Mao Zedong, the founder of Communist China. General Zhou is squeezing Russia's balls real tight, men.

"If Russia is conquered and NATO caves in and forms an alliance with China, they'll be the longest standing army in the world. Which is precisely what Sakamoto wants, setting up two of the world's super powers to team up on the other, us. Right now, India, Iran, and Afghanistan are under threat, and the Chinese have started their offensive in India. Now it's time for the Imperial Commandos to step in. FOB 23 is vital to secure India's northern border, the place is defending by the 12th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Army Group of the Indian Army . But the artillery fire that the Chinese launched earlier in the morning left half the regiment combat ineffective. The FOB serves as a relay station for the Indian Army, If the Chinese infiltrate the main computer room, they can send an all clear to the Indian Army to stand down, once that happens, the Chinese will take India within a week and move on to Iran."

"So here's the mission. You all are being sent in to bolster the defenses. Your commander will be Lieutenant Okonogi here. Now, get you gear and start get ready. I hope to see you all back here, and not in a body bag." The briefing ended and I went to the my team's helicopter and put our packs in.

"So how Ritsuko? She was pretty shaken up after she shot that guy."

"She's fine, I really haven't seen her since the incident, but I know she's over it."

"That's good to know. Ready for this, Mas? You lost an eye and a arm already in combat.

"Then I'll lose my other eye and arm before I let these bastards invade anything." We got one the helicopter and headed to India. I radioed in the other commandos with us. "All units, this is Lieutenant Okonogi, this is what's going to happen. We have two areas we have to defend. The main relay satellite dish and the water cooling station that keeps the computer's cool. If the Chinese take those, all they'll have to do is waltz right into the computer room and give the all clear. So here's how It gonna go. Team 1 will be in the computer room with me while Teams 2 and 3 will defend the dish and the cooling station. Team 2 will be led by Lieutenant Kaido and Team 3 will be led by Sergeants Haruzuko and Yamato. Now enjoy the ride mates, it's gonna be a long one."

 **May 21st, 2011**

 **0800hrs**

 **Emergency Response Forward Operating Base 23, India**

We arrived at the FOB in the early morning the next day and I spoke to the regiment commander.

"It's good to have some reinforcements, you're going to help us defend the base?"

"That's the plan, Colonel Gupta. I've already sent my men to defend the critical areas, I hope they have them locked down. I radioed my men to get their weapons ready. Then my radar showed blips coming. "Everyone, be advise. Chinese helicopters are near, I repeat, Chinese helicopters are near, defend the objectives. Let's go Colonel!" I saw the helicopters land and troops started to fire at them with dug in machine guns and with rocket launchers. Only a few helicopters managed to drop their teams and get out before being shot down. "Lieutenant Okonogi, this is Sergeant Haruzuko, the Chinese dropped in a tank, we're holding the satellite dish but I don't know for how much longer. I've already lost half of the platoon of India soldiers and one of our commandos is wounded pretty bad. Yamato took a small team to flank and destroy the tank."

"Just hold out for a long as possible, the Chinese have already lost most of their men."

"Mas, this is Yusuke. The Chinese have started pulling out of my area, they're most likely trying to break Haruzuko and Yamato's position."

"Okay, send a platoon of your guys and go help Haruzuko and Yamato. I'll be there with a platoon from my team." I ordered a platoon of Indian soldiers to follow me and we ran to Haruzuko and Yamato's position.

"Lieutenant, the Chinese want this dish badly, We can't hold out much longer, they sent a whole division just to take this place."

"Shit. I got a plan, I need some C4." A Indian soldier handed me a pack of C4 and I ran to the satellite dish. I called Colonel Gupta on the radio. "Colonel, you can repair the satellite dish right?"

"What are planning on doing, Lieutenant Okonogi."

"Well, I'm gonna blow up the dish. If you can't use it, the Chinese won't either, which means that the other FOB's here will be on high alert. This should prevent the Chinese from invading your country." I put the last C4 on the satellite dish and I ran back to others. "Everyone! Take cover!" I set off the C4 and the satellite dish exploded, along with the platform it was on. "I might of went a little overkill. Okay men, take out the stragglers!" My troops opened fire and Yamato and his anti-tank team snuck up on the tanks and knocked them out. The remaining Chinese soldiers surrendered and were taken into custody. The battle for the FOB was over, India was safe.

"Well, although you destroyed my satellite dish, you did save my men, and all of India if I'm being honest. I'm grateful for you, Lieutenant Okonogi."

"I can't take all the credit, Colonel Gupta, the true heroes were Haruzuko, Yamato, and those who aren't here anymore." We counted the casualties. The Imperial Commandos I came with only had a handful wounded with no deaths, while the Indian Army defenders suffered moderate casualties during the battle, and the Chinese had most of their soldiers killed or captured. "I'm sorry, you're gonna have to write a lot of letters to mothers and wives."

"It's a harsh reality of being a front line commander, I've been serving this country for almost 40 years and I've already written over a thousand death letters to grieving families. You're lucky not one of your men were killed."

"Yeah, well, I guess this is farewell. If you need anymore assistance, we'll be there for you." I shook Colonel Gupta's hand and I boarded a helicopter.

"I will make sure the government and the people know who saved them from Chinese aggression."

"Tell them that is was through the valiant effort from the 12th Infantry Regiment."

"And the men of the 1st Imperial Japanese Commando Regiment." My helicopter lifted off and I closed the door, Yusuke tapping my shoulder.

"So, next up Iran?"

"That'll probably be where the Chinese attack next. Remember Yusuke, Takashi warned us about what would happen if these countries are invaded."

"Yeah… You guys did pretty good out there." Yusuke patted Yamato on the back.

"Thanks, But we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for our commander here." Yamato patted me on the back

"Yeah, well we can all take an easy breath knowing the Chinese couldn't invade India."

"Hey guys, when we get back we should have a little party. Drinks on me, 2000 yen to see who can make our sourpuss commander get wasted first." We laughed and joked the entire ride back and when we got back to the Hiryu, me and team went to the local bar and drank the night away. Once I got over my hangover the next day, I said goodbye to my team and rode back to Tsurugigoaka.

 **May 23rd, 2011**

 **Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **1615hrs**

The updated approval rating for me came out today, Ayaka, our newest affiliate and Ritsuko's older sister was waiting for Rise to show us the results. "What's the number Rise? It should be a pretty big leap as Masaya here heroically saved me from the jaws of evil."

"Ayaka, you remember that we specifically agreed to not mention that to anyone outside the society."

"Damn, I forgot. I guess I was hoping on having a big boost for Masaya's support. Hey, maybe I should tell everyone what happened."

"No, I think it's better we keep it to ourselves. Wouldn't the other girls thinking there's gangsters out to kidnap any Vincennes students." The Yakuza, especially The Boss' was notorious for their human trafficking, especially if the girl was from a rich family or a place like Vincennes. Of course, that was in Yokosuka, Tsurugigoaka's biggest crime syndicate was technically Noboru Saikawa, the Goon Boss and his bozo underling, Kyoshi Akagi. The same to guys that would give me and my father hell.

"I agree with Masaya that we should not tell anyone. I already was reprimanded by the Headmistress."

"What? You were?"

"Yeah sorry about that. I accidentally told the headmistress about your encounter with the Goons. I was caught up in the moment. Didn't help that she was pissing me off."

"It's fine, the headmistress just told me to not speak about it again. So as not to scare any students."

"Wow… were rescued by Masaya, like I was?"

"No, we hadn't met at the time. I managed to escape by myself."

"Wow… I never knew that the Rise Rousenin was capable of escaping from hardened criminals." Ayaka seemed genuinely impressed, If I'm being honest, I was too. "And not just that you escaped from them. You still had it in you to continue your search until you found Masaya."

"Yes."

"Heh… I guess that's why they call you Soleil D'Ecole. You so determined, that you're willing to sacrifice your dignity for the school. But seriously though. Is it really okay for me to join just because I think that Masaya is cute."

"Well… I don't see why it wouldn't be okay."

"Ah… I wish I can tell everyone how heroic he was. Like a ghost, he snuck in to the building, pistol in his hand and then picked me up with his strong arms and carry me off into the sunrise and sharing a sweet and romantic baiser **(French for kiss).**

"Ayaka, unless you want me to tear up this room too, I suggest you stop lying."

"Hey… but you were heroic back there."

"I wouldn't even consider it heroic. I just snuck into my own bloody house to rescue you."

"Yeah, but the way you snuck in through the vents was pretty cool."

"It was just some run down apartment." From what Ayaka was saying, It appeared that the Goons were using my old apartment as a headquarters

"And you know, even Ritsuko was impressed by you're heroic actions."

"Really?"

"Yeah, though she told me this. 'Just because I was impressed with his actions, it doesn't mean I support him.'"

"I guess so, she is the leader of the Red Rose Society so I wasn't expecting her to turn. By the way, how are my approval ratings, Rise?"

"It's the same as last week when you saved Konomi, this week was only a single person who started to approve of you."

"Oof, I guess we still got a ways to go, huh, Masaya."

"Yeah… looks like it."

"Though personally, I think you're adorable. I don't know what those girls don't see in you."

"Tsk.., a heart and a brain, that's what." I sarcastically answered Ayaka's question.

"Maybe it's his wildness." Ruriko piped in into the conversation.

"His wildness? What are implying Ruriko?"

"She's got a point. He looks very sexy naked."

"H-How do you know how he looks n-naked?"

"Remember, I lured him into the Red Rose Society room to strip to his underwear."

"Oh… right, I forgot about that."

"Hey, we should push that point more aggressively."

"Hey, I got a better idea. How about we don't do that and actually focus on normal ways for me to get support."

"Fine, I keep as our secret ace in the hole."

"Masaya has a point, we need to think of a normal, not lewd way to boost his support. It's not like he's a bad person or anything." _If only you knew who I really was, Chiho._

"Why do you say that? Are you implying he did something bad in the past."

"I'm not implying anything, just wanted to you guys to keep that in mind."

"Well, this is the Filles de Vincennes we're dealing with here. They can be as stubborn as Masaya on a bad day."

"Everyday is a bad day for me, Rise." She wasn't lying though. The students of Vincennes were some of the most stubborn people I've ever met. For better or worse(usually better) the students of Vincennes were a strange bunch for a bloke like me. Made me a little normal by default, of course to them I was an uncultured oaf.

"Konomi, for example. Although a little extreme, she perfectly sums up how the other girls here feel about you."

"*scoff* Extreme is putting it lightly, I'd say she's deranged."

"Oh don't be too hard on her, Masaya. She's just not very educated when it comes to sexual topics."

"Speaking of which, whose the lady that handles the health classes here. Konomi is not the only girl here whose about to be in high school and still believes that babies a made by touching hands."

"Man, I guess the White Lily Society is truly the breeding grounds for progressives." Ayaka was referring to the fact that in talking to a man (i.e me) they where considered different.

"Well, we got ourselves a contingency plan. Let's brace ourselves in case we need it. That good with everyone." The girls all came to an agreement.

"Hold on a bloody second. You didn't even get my consent on this!"

"It's just a precaution. We'll most likely not use it."

"Something tells me that you want to use it."

"Only If all else fails." The meeting ended and we went our separate ways for the day.

 **May 24th, 2011**

"*Yawn* Crap!" I covered my mouth as I realised I had yawned, which was apparently a rude gesture at Vincennes. "Hmm…?" I had the sense that I was being watched, my hand slowly reaching for my gun in my holster. There were other students walking to class but none paid any attention to me. _I'm probably just paranoid._ I shrugged it off and headed to the school building and when I was putting my boots in the shoe box, I had a tingling feeling again. "What the hell, I'm feeling it again." I pulled out my M1911A1 and held it downward. _Maybe I shouldn't have drunk with Yusuke and the others. I'm gettingg these weird feelings._ I went to class and everything was normal, and when I got to lunch I was scanning the dining hall for anything that would arouse my senses again. _Nothing out of the ordinary right now._ Lunch went by as the rest of the school day too and I was heading to Maria Hall when I felt the tingling feeling again. _This is really starting to get on my bloody nerves._ I walked to Maria Hall and went into the White Lily Society room. "Ayaka, were you spying on me today?"

"No, why do you ask, Masaya?"

"No reason… just that all day, I've felt like I'm being watched on."

"Oh? I thought you were asking if I was, that I should continue."

"I'd rather put a bullet in my brain then to have you stalking me."

"I was just joking. I don't need to watch you from far away, we see each other everyday now."

"Are you sure you weren't just imagining it, Masaya?"

"Probably."

"It would be expected after you first arrived, but for someone to do this after you've been here for nearly two months? That person must be deeply infatuated with you, Masaya."

 **Rise and Chiho together** "Who can it be?" "Whose the skank that likes him?!"

"I doubt that, Ruriko. Most of the girls here still see me as an evil devil."

"Don't be quick to assume, some girls here could harbor secret feelings for you."

"Yeah right… These girls are too posh for someone like me."

"I do wonder though, can it be a girl that has feelings for you." Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" The door opened and Konomi nervously walked in.

"S-Salutations."

"Hello, Konomi."

"I've come here to make a request to the White Lily Society."

"Oh, what is your request."

"I-I've been monitoring this one all day today, and…"

"That one? Who are you referring to?"

"You know! The Tentateur Serpent right there!" Konomi pointed at me. We all just looked at each other. "What is it?" Konomi wasn't expecting to get the reaction she got.

"You were the one… watching him?"

"Ah… and what if I was?"

"Do you have any feelings for Masaya by any chance, Konomi? Like romantic feelings?"

"W-W-W-What are you talking about, Ms. Chiho?! O-O-Of course not!"

"I assumed as much… whew, you scared me for a second."

"But if not for love, what was If then?"

"You know why! To expose his true colors! As a demon that should be sent back to the fires of hell!"

"You keep referring to Masaya, but you're not calling him by his name."

"Because I don't believe a demon like him should be referred to by name."

"Now that's a flawed philosophy. Do you refer to Lucifer as 'it' too?" I finally spoke up after lightning a cigarette.

"You're a special case. You're more than just a myth, you're flesh and bones like us, which makes you even more dangerous."

"Konomi, did you even see Masaya do something bad today?"

"No, I'm afraid I didn't see anything vile today. He hides his true self too well."

"Probably because I have nothing to fucking hide!" I was starting to get annoyed by Konomi's assertion that I was some demon planning to rape or kill them all.

"Do you still intend to play dumb?"

"No. And when are you gonna get those bloody screws in that empty head of yours screwed on?"

"You were naked, I saw you. You had your hands around Ayaka as you sucked her neck like a vampire feeding on his prey. The imaged tormented me for day. I imagined I was in Ayaka's place. And then I'd wake up feeling hot and sweaty and weird…"

"Heh… I bet you have fun at night masturbating to that."

"Masaya!"

"What? It sounds like a wet dream to me." The girls just looked at me, I'd admit the sarcastic quip was uncalled for.

"Anyway, after that I knew that this man is an absolute danger to us all."

"Wait, Konomi, you were there when Ayaka explained to us that she was pranking Masaya."

"Pardon me, Ms. Rise, but I have to disagree. It's hardly normal for someone to strip naked just because a letter told them to."

"Well… she isn't lying." Ayaka bugged my shoulder. I just sarcastically laughed at her. "But joking aside, Konomi, you got the wrong idea. He did that because he thought he was going to a secret rendezvous. When you guys barged in, I was a shocked as everyone else."

"I see… I didn't know you were that determined to get pregnant, Ms. Ayaka."

"G-Get pregnant?!"

"Why would you be waiting in a room naked unless you were intended to get someone pregnant."

"Ha… did you even listen to a word I said."

"This is what I've come here to say. You need to get away from that man before you all end up pregnant."

"Konomi, you alwayss talk about being impregnated, but do you even know how impregnation works.

"I-I do!"

"Do you really?"

"Yes, impregnation begins with eye contact." We all looked at each other until I spoke up.

"Amazing, everything you said right there, was wrong."

"I'm just worried about you all. Becoming unwed mothers, it would be horrible."

"Excuse us Konomi, we need to talk in private." We all circled around each other in a huddle and whispered.

"Hey, I think Konomi's being serious here. What is going on here?"

"She clearly is missing a few screws in that bloody head of her's"

"Masaya, this is not the time to be an asshole."

"Well, make her stop saying stupid shite."

"Peace. Look we need to think of something."

"It's very obvious that Konomi thinks Masaya is a philanderer since they first met."

"There has to be more to than that. I think she's picked up a lot of bullshit ideas about how babies are created."

"Hey, what are all doing?! Get away from him!"

"Look, Konomi." Rise broke up the huddle and turned to Konomi. "Looking into someone's eyes doesn't cause pregnancy. It never has happened, and it never will."

"What are talking about, of course it does." Konomi looked at Rise with suspicion, see didn't notice Ayaka creeping behind her.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to test that theory out." Ayaka grabbed Konomi's shoulders and moved a few steps forward. "Try and make eye contact with Masaya." I most of all wanted this misunderstanding cleared so I firmly look into her eyes. It felt like a staring contest, until Konomi turned red as a tomato and started trembling, like if she was holding back laughing.

"Mm…Ahhhhhh!"

"Jesus!" Konomi bolted out of the class like an animal in the wild. "Well, that was a massive failure."

"Geez.., It's more serious than I thought."

"H-He planted his seed inside me! That man planted his seed inside me!" He can still hear Konomi from the hall as she spouted of nonsense.

"Planted his seed?" Chiho repeated what Konomi said in a mocking tone.

"Even her way of speaking is old-fashioned."

"It's very odd though. Vincennes does have health classes, I guess Konomi never paid attention to them, or maybe she has and doesn't acknowledge what she learned as facts."

"I don't think she's ever had the talk. **(In English).** Damnit, Ryuto. Tell you daughter what the bloody hell sex is." Just the we heard a clatter of footsteps outside. "Oh shite…" A teacher walked in and pointed at me.

"Mr. Okonogi, what's all this about planting you seed?! Come to my office, at once."

"I-*grunt* yes, ma'am."

 **A couple hours later.**

I received a tongue lashings from the teacher before I explained what happened. She apologised for the misunderstanding and let me go. Then Ayaka and Ritsuko went to my dorm to apologise on Konomi's behalf. "I'm very sorry about all this, Masaya."

"Eh, don't sweat it, Ritsuko. I'm just glad they didn't hang from a tree."

"Konomi only joined the Red Rose Society because I was in it, so I feel that I'm part to blame for her actions."

"You worry to much Ritsuko. Masaya doesn't hold grudges, he's a soldier and a brave and heroic man. I'm sure he isn't bothered by Konomi."

"Don't speak of Masaya's true identity out loud sister, we all made a promise never to bring it up again."

"I do wonder though, why doesn't Konomi know anything about how babies are made? It's strange no matter how you slice it."

"Konomi told me it was because she never paid attention in her health classes."

"Yep, that about explains it. But why though? I thought she was a model student like the rest of you lot."

"She told it embarrasses her to the point of passing out."

"Damn… it's worse than I thought. Is the sex education here that detailed? Or is she just strange?"

"No way, though I don't know how they teach at other schools. What did they tell you, Masaya?"

"Just the basics. An uneroticised chart of the human body and how sex works, like sticking the penis in the vagina during intercourse."

"So it's no different. Then I guess Konomi can't even make it past the basics."

"But here's the million dollar question. Where the bloody hell did she get those bollocks ideas from?"

"She said she saw it in a shoujo manga."

"Tsk… Of course that's the reason. I honestly hope whoever the hell writes those things has actually had sex in their lives. Look girls, this a problem. What the hell is Konomi going to do when she graduates? Her father's my commander and he worries about that all the time. Speaking of which, where is Konomi?"

"She writhing on her bed in her room."

"Does she have a fever?"

"No, she says she's preparing for labor pains."

"Okay, I'm done dealing with this shit. We need to think of something fast to get Konomi to understand how the hell she and everyone in this bloody planet are born.

"You're right, Masaya. I'll go speak to Konomi, farewell." Ritsuko turned around and started walking away from me and Ayaka.

"You know, Masaya. I genuinely feel bad for Konomi. I mean, what is going to do on her wedding night?" I nodded in agreement. "And of she ends up pregnant by the time she's 20, you'll be part of the blame."

"What do I have to do with her obliviousness?"

"Because of you, her crazy ideas have exploded."

"I think the same would've happened with any random bloke."

"I don't think so. You're sheer handsomeness alone caused her to be confused."

"Yeah, right..,"

"No, I'm being serious. If you weren't such a looker, Konomi wouldn't be constantly denying that she like you. Look the reason she gets so testy is that she can't get dirty thoughts of you out of her head. Do you know what her title is, Masaya?"

"Yeah, Mignon Poupee, French for darling doll."

"Anyway, you'll help me out, right, Masaya."

"Help you with what?"

"Training Konomi."

"Training…?"

"Call if educating if you want."

"Sure… so when do we start?"

"Tomorrow. I'll see you later, Masaya."

 **May 25th, 2011**

 **1615hrs**

The final bell rung and classes had ended for the day when Ayaka came into mine and Rise's classroom. "Hey guys."

"Oh, Ayaka. What are you doing here?"

"Rise, me and Masaya need to skip today's meeting. Is that okay with you? I need to borrow him for a little bit." As she spoke, Ayaka locked our arms together. The softness of her breasts brushing of my elbow caused me to freeze up a little. Rise gave a displeasing look while the usual gaggle of girls whispered away. "C'mon Masaya, let's head out." Ayaka half dragged me out of the classroom.

"O-Oi, Ayaka. You wanna let go of my arm, people are looking at us."

"I don't care, let them look if they want."

"I'm just saying, the last thing we need is my approval ratings going back to 1 person. I already heard the whispers back in the classroom. These girls have a look that can kill."

"I don't mind, I let them talk. What are they gonna do?"

"Vote to kick me out this school…"

"Just don't worry about. You know you can be just like Ritsuko sometimes, loosen up a little." She poked my cheek and let go of my arm. "Though I guess you're right. I wouldn't want the other girls calling you a Tentateur Serpent again."

"Whatever, let's just go." We exited the main building and went to the rose garden to discuss how we were gonna teach Konomi sex-ed.

"Alright, I've been thinking."

"Yeah, does it pay well."

"You know, you don't have to be sarcastic all the time, Masaya."

"Sorry, it's just who I am."

"Whatever, look here's the book we're gonna use." Ayaka placed a health textbook on the table. "I snuck out yesterday to get this. It has stuff in there our textbooks don't have."

"We're gonna use this book to teach her?"

"Yep." I was relieved. Knowing Ayaka, she would've given a erotic manga and tell me it was educational. "Although if we use a textbook, it wouldn't be that much different from a normal class.. Since Konomi doesn't pay attention in her normal class, I have something else in mind as a backup. Anyway, you're gonna be the one playing teacher."

"I knew you were trying to weasel out of doing any hard work."

"I can't teach a class. I'm just using what I got and you use your immense knowledge to teach her."

"I don't know… you don't think Konomi would pay less attention because I'm the one teaching."

"I mean, you can point at a male body diagram and say 'You're teacher has a pair of these'."

"There is no way in hell I'm saying that."

"Damn, it was worth a shot. Anyway, look, Konomi hates losing and loves competition. So if you use that to you're advantage and treat this like a competition, she'll more likely want to pay attention."

"You got a point. I'm genuinely surprised, Ayaka. You actually thought this plan through."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean."

"Nothing."

"Well let's just hope our teacher here can is up to the challenge. If she learns something from Lt. Okonogi's lesson then we're in the clear. But if she still doesn't understand, I have a secret weapon. Okay, I'll call Konomi. Meet us in my classroom, 3-D."

"Roger that."

 **Class 3-D**

"Ms. Ayaka! What is the meaning of this!"

"Come on, you can't seriously get this worked up just by seeing him."

"I-I'm not angry. But what is going on, why is he here?"

"We're here to teach you a few important things you need to know."

"Teach me?"

"Come on Mr. Okonogi, the class is in session. Take the podium."

"Right…" I walked over to the podium and opened up the textbook. Ayaka guiding Konomi to a desk near the front.

"What exactly are you two going to do?"

"Like I said, we're here to teach a few important things. Masaya and I, plus all of our friends are very worried about you. More specifically, your future."

"Worried? About my future?"

"Yep, Konomi, do you plan on getting married one day?"

"I-Uh… I never thought about that yet."

"Right, say a couple years down the line, you meet a guy that is strong, heroic albeit sarcastic, Say you marry this guy, then what? Are you just gonna hug and watch TV all throughout your wedding night and then magically end up pregnant? That's why we're here to give you education. Sexual education."

"Sexual education?!" _Oh boy, here we go again._ When Ayaka told her what we were here for, Konomi started to blush and turn red again. Quite honestly, it was rare to meet a girl one her final year of middle school that didn't know a little about sex, but it apparently was the norm at Vincennes.

"Ritsuko told us that you got your information from shoujo manga. If I may be blunt, that stuff is baloney. Konomi, why don't you pay attention to you're actual health classes? Is It becausee you embarrassed?" Konomi gave Ayaka a firm nod. "Thought so… alright Masaya, time to start teaching."

"I won't be taught by this serpent!" Konomi stood up from her chair. "Ayaka, why do I have to be taught by him?"

"Aw… what's this Konomi? Are you gonna cry and run away?" In an instant, Konomi's face went from tomato red to stark white." _Damn… that tactic was more effective than I thought._

"Wh-What do mean by running away, Ayaka?"

"Well, Masaya spent all night last night gettingg this lesson for you ready and for what? For you to quit before it even starts? Is that how warriors act, give up before the monster even appears?" I was impressed on how Ayaka was really pressing Konomi's buttons. Konomi was starting to shake like a chihuahua again, which meant we were on the right track.

"A… warrior never… back down from a… fight."

"And right you are, now please take you seat. Don't worry, I'll be hear for support. Now c'mon, let's listen to Mr. Okonogi's lesson." Konomi lightly nodded and returned to her desk and opened up the textbook we put on the table. Ayaka sitting right next to her.

"Alright. *cough* Where should we start?"

"Wherever you'd like, teacher."

"Okay. Are you ready, Konomi?"

"Do your worst… I won't be defeated by the likes of you."

"Right…" I opened up my textbook and looked for the basics. This was the first time I had to be a teacher, which is different from ordering men around on a battlefield. "Umm… okay. 'When the body enters puberty, the pituitary glands starts to secrete gonadotropic hormones which cause the gonads to grow and develop. As this happens, the reproductive organs mature. Males begin to exhibit ejaculation, while females, exhibit menstruation.'" As I was talking I can hear Konomi whimpering quietly. "'First ejaculation and first menstruation occur at different times for different people. If you get yours comparatively earlier or later, it is no case for concern.'"

"When did you have your first ejaculation, teacher."

"Hmm… oh, I had mine in due to a wet dream in the sixth grade, so I was around 11 going on 12 and- Hey! Don't make say that stuff!"

"This is more interesting. What was your wet dream about, teacher?"

"The answer to that question will be a private one for as long as I'm breathing on this earth. Besides, can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that you'd tell me your first wet dream?"

"I honestly can. I can tell you how old I was when I cooked my first red rice."

"I'd rather you not."

"I was thi-"

"Hey Konomi, I wasn't being serious. Geez, look how red she's getting. I think she might be overheating." Ayaka put a hand on Konomi's forehead. "Damn… she's burning up. Hey Konomi, are you okay?"

"Ummmmmm…"

"I think we should call it quits from today."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

"W-What are you two talking about… The real fight hasn't even begun, now continue."

"Right…" I was worried for her but she kept pressing on, reminding me that Konomi tries to be like her father. "Okay… 'When sexually stimulated, the penis becomes hard and large and rises up. This is called an erection. In a women's body, the vagina begins to produce a fluid that makes sexual intercouse possible ' …Can you find this passage on your textbook?" I pointed to a diagram next to the paragraph I read. Although it was unerotic, Konomi was still getting as red as before.

"What is this? It looks like a frog on its back." _What the hell? Does my cock and bollocks resemble that?"_

"*cough* Anyway, 'Sperm cells mix with fluids produced by the seminal vesicles and the prostate gland to create seman. Semen passes through the urethra before ejecting from the penis. After the 200 to 300 million carried in the seman are ejaculated into the vagina, they head for the egg in the Fallopian tube'" I moved on to the part where the fertilised egg implants it's self to the vaginal walls and grow, but by this point, I had completely lost Konomi. She let out one last whimper before passing out from embarrassment. "I think that's where we should stop. At least we made it to pregnancy."

"Yeah, I had a second document on hand, but I'll save it for later."

"A second document?" Just the Konomi got a second wind and rose from her desk.

"It's not over yet, Snake." Konomi picked herself, she looked like a boxer on the verge of being KO'ed. "I said that you will not defeat me."

"Yeah, we already got to where we wanted to get to. At the very least you know what to do on your wedding night." I got a cigarette from out of my coat pocket and lit it up.

"But what does 'Sexually stimulated' mean? What does it mean when the vagina is wet? Or how can the penis fit in the vagina?" I was caught off guard by Konomi's questions that I accidentally inhaled to much smoke and started to cough uncontrollably.

"Man, Rise is right. Those things are gonna kill you one day."

"Yeah, *cough* and I'm waiting with *cough* open arms."

"You're not teaching me enough yet you claim I'm the one running away from the enemy."

"Here Konomi, why don't you take this." Ayaka handed Konomi a book. The cover was wrapped in paper so I couldn't scan the book with my SmartVision but looked like a novel.

"Is this the document you talked about? I'll take it. Should I read it out loud.

"I guess. Though you can also read it quietly if you like."

"No." Konomi took the book and opened it up. "'Kyaa-ah! Oh, Master! Put your big hot cock in Memiko right now!'"

"*coughing* What the bloody hell did you give her?!"

"'Unable to control my rock hard cock anymore. I bent down to have a look at Memiko's pussy. Memiko was a two dimensional character that came out of my computer screen, so I wasn't sure if she had a pussy. I was worried. Maybe she was drawn without one, and we couldn't have sex.' 'Ah, Oni-san, what are you doing!' 'I ignored her moans and pressed my face closer. Then I let out a shout.' 'Woah, It actually has mosaics.' I had enough and I turned to Ayaka.

"This is a porno manga isn't it!"

"Yeah."

"What the- you're not even shamed to admit it?"

"Well it's educational for her. At least it's addressing some of things she was telling us."

"If this bastard is fucking some anime girl that came out of his bloody computer screen, don't you think that'll put even more dumbarse ideas into her head."

"I guess that's possible." While me and Ayaka were going back and forth with each other, Konomi kept reading the hentai manga.

"'I knew that at times like this, you're supposed to squint. I did, and there! Her cunt came into view. Memiko's pussy, it was so beautiful. I'm the type of guy who vomits watching disaster videos on the net. But this time, it was a direct hit to the pleasure center of my brain.'"

"I think I've heard enough of this fuck up sack of shite!" I grabbed the book and was met with a very graphic sex scene. "'Ow! It hurts! I plugged my penis into her pussy, her face stained with tears, but I ignored her cri'- Okay, that's it. This is done." I shut the book closed and threw it to Ayaka.

"So that was baby… making… sex…" *thud* Konomi face planted on the desk, knocked out cold.

"I guess we stimulated her too much."

"No shit Ayaka. Why the bloody hell do you have this?"

"I-Uh… I got it for this purpose. That Amazon fast delivery, man, whew."

"Right… Whatever gets you off at night."

"Anyway, I'm gotta go. My favorite show is coming on. Good luck with Konomi." Ayaka took off and left me with Konomi.

 **1830hrs**

"Hmm… what?" The sun was already setting when Konomi finally woke up, I was on a desk, cleaning the insides of my M1911A1. "Ah… you're awake."

"Masaya…" It was reliving to hear Konomi call me by my name. I got up from the desk and walked over to her to feel her forehead.

"…Feels fine. You should be all clear."

"Where's Ayaka?"

"She left a while a go to masturb… master her algebra skills. Well, I should take off too." I quickly reassembled my M1911A1 and headed for the door.

"Wait a minute!"

"Yeah?"

"T-Thank you for staying with me until I woke up."

"Don't mention it, love." Konomi, though a colossal pain in the arse sometimes, was still a polite girl, not to mention my promise to her father that I would protect her. _"Please Masaya, I'm not asking you as your commanding officer. But as a father doing his best to protect his daughter."_

"But don't think that I completely trust you or men just yet. That document confirmed it. Men are dangerous beasts. That man, 'Protagonist-tan', he knew he was hurting Memiko, but he keep going."

"That's because it's just some dumb hentai. It's not real life."

"But the men who write it. Is it what they desire?"

"I-Uh… I guess you got a point." Konomi was right. Some erotic writers aren't always quite up there mentally.

"I'm growing more concerned. I'll be safe with my naginata, but Ritsuko, Onee-sama. She can't protect herself."

"Look Konomi, I'm not at all like that bastard protagonist in that story." Konomi for the first time looked me in my eye without freaking out.

"If the guilty deserve punishment, then I should strike down every man on this earth. But Onee-sama said something to me. 'That all people are innocent until proven guilty, and that I tend to have strong biases.'"

"*scoff* Shit, she isn't wrong." I was glad Ritsuko wasn't having any of Konomi's bullshit either, but Konomi still wasn't convinced.

"I wish I can trust you completely. I can't even imagine if all men were like 'Protagonist-tan',"

"I'll be the first to admit that not all man are saints. In fact most are not completely sinless. But you can't go around saying that all men are mindless brutes that rape and murder young girls. Look, when the day comes and you graduate from Vincennes, then what? You're going to find a man, fall in love, and have a family. One of the main reasons I'm even here is to let's you girls interact with a guy you're age."

"Interact? With a man around my age?"

"Yep."

"And you believe that by interacting with you, that I'll come to be more trusting of men?"

"That's the plan. I know you won't just all men, but at the very least, you come to trust me."

"Very well, then I have one request."

"Sure, anything you ask."

"If I'm to find out if Ritsuko can be around you safely. I'll have to get my hands dirty and put my life on the line."

"Put you life on the line?"

"I-I'll come by your room later tonight. I'll explain the details then."

"Right."

"If I may. Can I borrow this?" Konomi picked up the hentai manga off the floor and showed me it. "It might be good to study it more."

"I-*sigh* sure, like I told Ayaka. Whatever gets you off, I'm in no position to judge. Just don't go telling Ritsuko about it." Before I finished Konomi had disappeared and I was alone in the classroom. I pulled out another cigarette and started smoking it. "*exhale* Jesus, today was a complete mind fuck." I walked out of the classroom and headed back to the dorms.

 **2100hrs**

It was already 9:00 at night when I finally heard a knock at my door. "Come in!"

"S-Salutations, M-Mr. Masaya."

"Just Masaya is fine. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What are you implying?"

"It's just that you're blushing, you're eyes are bloodshot, and according to my analysis, you're heartbeat is above normal right now."

"I can't say anything about my face and heartbeat, but my eyes are like this because I've been reading."

"And doing some other things, no doubt."

"Not only did I read the document completely, but I also read the entire textbook from cover to cover. I now posses a reasonable amount of knowledge."

"Well… good for you, Konomi."

"S-So I now understand many things about sexual stimulation and arousal. Incidentally, the textbook stressed the concept of love especially."

"Hmm…"

"It said that sexual intercourse comes from love. I-Is that true?"

"…I want to say so."

" _You are my pet, Masaya. You are my toy, and you're my slave."_

"That awful man, 'Protagonist-tan' said this many times '"I'm doing this because I love you Memiko.' Then one can conclude that it is improper to preform intercourse without love. Right?"

"Yeah… I guess."

"Then answer me this, Masaya. Would you ever have intercourse with a woman you didn't love?"

"…No, I wouldn't."

"You hesitated. Are you just saying what I want to hear."

"No, I'm not."

"Then if you become sexually aroused by stimulation from a woman you do not love. You are without a shadow of a doubt a Tentateur Serpent. You acknowledge that, don't you?"

"Yeah…"

"I see, then I have a challenge, a test for you."

"If I pass this test, you'll accept me, rather you'll accept all me. At least to show you that not all men are 'seductive snakes'."

"Yes."

"Well then, I accept the challenge." Konomi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her face was completely red, it was clear that whatever she had planned, she was not comfortable with. "Are you even sure you want to go through with this."

"Yes, I am. I just need to prepare myself. Masaya Okonogi, I challenge you to a naked dual!"

"A dual?!"

"Ah, I mean a date."

 **30 minutes later**

 **Vincennes Communal Bathing Area**

I knew that Vincennes had a communal bath. It was one of the locations Rise pointed out to me when I first came here. But I had never thought that I would ever use it since I was the only guy here, I wouldn't expect to be bathing with anyone at this school anytime soon. Thankfully there was no one at the bathing room at the moment. Konomi telling me that the area is closed off by this time of day. Though the entrance was still open and the water heater was still on, but it wasn't like anyone except me and Ayaka that broke the rules. _I hope I know what I'm getting myself into._ I wasn't about to say no to Konomi, if I did, she would just keep demonising me until I'm thrown out of Vincennes.

"Of course, we won't actually be naked." There wasn't much of a reason to object. Compared to some of the shit I had to deal with. Konomi told me to go on ahead, so I waited for her to show up. I sat down with my eyes on the dressing room, when a petite figure entered. It drew to a corner and started to undress. _I know she's got a swimsuit underneath, I can't help but feel a little enticed._ But I knew why she told me to go first was that she wouldn't have to change with me. So I turned my eyes away and waited for her to come out. The door opened and I turned to face her. There was nothing wrong about us being in swimwear, but it still felt awkward. It didn't help that we alone in the middle of the night.

"Alright, this was your genius plan so what do we do now?"

"D-Do you feel sexually aroused by this? Fully naked would have been better for results but I couldn't bring myself to go that far." _At least she had a little bit of conman sense when she planned this out._ "You have no particular attraction to me, Masaya. If you are nevertheless feeling sexually stimulated. Then that will prove that you are an unabashed Tentateur Serpent." It was true that I wasn't exactly in love with Konomi, but she was incredibly cute, a stark contrast to my hardness and gruffness. To say I wasn't at all arouse is a lie. "W-Well? Are you?" Konomi wiggled around a little. I knew it was because she was embarrassed, but I couldn't help but find it a little alluring. "Hah… I'm going to get pregnant for sure…" _You don't have to moan like that._ I was on the verge of having a dangerous reaction, but I managed to hold it in. _That cute face, that fair skin, that small but firm bust, those youthful hips… Agh keep it together Masaya, this is Colonel Yanase, your commander's precious daughter._ Konomi was glaring at my lower regions to see if my cock was erect. "You don't appear to be aroused."

"Yep, that you know the test is over, right?"

"No, it's not over yet."

"What the bloody hell are gonna do now? Touch my dick?"

"O-Of course not!"

"O-Okay. Then what exactly do you have in mind?" Konomi turned to the bathtub.

"We did come to the bath, after all. Let's take a bath."

"Lead the way." Konomi quickly moved to the bathtub and jumped right into the water and curled up in a corner. I entered after her and sat down a few meters away from her. The water felt hotter than I thought, mostly because I was embarrassed.

"C-Come closet to me." Konomi turned away from me. "Let's sit back to back." I was a weird feeling, sitting back to back with a girl, my commander's daughter no less. We did have swimsuits on but that didn't really mean a whole lot. The fabric of Konomi's swimsuit was so thin, I can practically feel her skin underneath. I didn't help that I had trouble breathing because my heart was going at a billion kilometres per hour. "How about now? Are you aroused? Masaya?"

"Konomi, how are determining this, my arousal, how are you going to determinate it?"

"W-Well, in the textbook… i-it said that…"

"…Penile erection." Konomi didn't say anything. I collected some water into my hands are starting to scrub my face, or what was left of it. "Well, thank god that I'm fine. But I am aroused in a sense. Arousal doesn't exactly mean my cock is erect, it's just that I feel funny in a sense. All men get aroused, but we're nothing at all like the protagonist in that hentai." Although from what I read, it was consensual in a way, Memiko was just as horny as the guy. "The difference is straightforward to me, but I guess not to you, huh?"

"…It is not."

"If we were to put people on a scale from normal and abnormal, what the vast majority would be normal, right?"

"Yes."

"Then the same logic applies to arousal. A vast majority of men would see you as attractive and be aroused by you, whether they have a erection or not. Because you're very cute, Konomi. Most guys would be aroused by you and give an arm and a leg to be with a cute girl like you."

"Even if they don't love them?"

"Yep…"

"And that's just a natural biological function for men?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"I understand." I didn't have time to feel relieved as Konomi started another conversation. "But am I really cute?"

"If I'm being honest with you. I think you pretty cute."

"I see…"

"You sound disappointed."

"I'm a warrior. A warrior shouldn't be cute. They even gave me the title of 'Mignon Poupee' as well. I don't like the title at all."

"…Darling Doll, I think it suits you though." Putting aside her 'warrior's pride', the title reflected her physical appearance.

"What are you saying?! That's completely wrong. My proper title is 'Lame Sans Merci'.

"Uh huh…"

"Don't act surprised! Are you saying that I'm wrong?"

"I guess I am. I've never heard anyone refer to you with that title. I don't think it's common for a student to have two titles unless they're the student council president.

"I… I guess you're right. The only person who calls me that is my naginata sensei."

"…'Lame Sans Merci'… the Merciless Blade…" " _Is this really all the 'Ripper' has to offer."_ I heard Mujihi's voice in my head. He was the one who sliced out my eye and everything thing else I lost in that sword fight we had in Pakistan.

"I've been working hard to get everyone to call me by that title instead but…"

"They still call you by your other title because they think it suits you more."

"I already told you! That title does not suit the daughter of a national hero."

"Your father's status as the commander of the Imperial Commandos has no influence on what these girls consider you."

"How did you know my father was an Imperial Commando."

"I uh… had to do a report on heroes during the Soviet-Japanese War in my old school, your father, Ryuto Yanase was the guy I was assigned to do." I felt a little better since we had shifted the conversation from a man's biological instincts to Konomi's titles. "Look, you're very cute despite your skills with a naginata."

"You kept calling me cute. You really are a Tentateur Serpent."

"Heh… I guess I did sound like I was flirting with you."

"I am rather disappointed. So this is how men are..,"

"Just remember what Ayaka said. 'If the world was made up of just saints, we would never reproduce.' You shouldn't be so fastidious either. After you graduate, you might still want a boyfriend."

"I-I have Ritsuko, my Onee-sama. I don't need a boyfriend." I was going to give a sarcastic response, but I let the conversation focus on Ritsuko.

"You seem to admire Ritsuko a lot, Konomi."

"Yes, I do."

"Was there something in particular that lead you to follow her like a lost puppy."

"Yes, I'll never forget it. It was the day of my first entrance ceremony. Unlike most girls, I started coming here starting Intermediate Course. My father and I were still grieving about my mother's sudden death. I was rather shy when I got here. And then Ritsuko came along. I was walking to the cathedral for the opening ceremony when she came up to me. All I can remember from that was that she was really beautiful,I thought to myself that someone as beautiful as her would never want to talk to me. Then with gentle hands, she straightened the bow on my head and said. 'Your bow was not straight.' I was so mesmerised that I couldn't talk, she smiled and took her leave. She was so amazing, just thinking about it makes my heart race." I sat there listening to Konomi open up about how she met Ritsuko. It became very obvious that Konomi had a lot of admiration for Ritsuko. "Anyway, from that day on, I started to follow Ritsuko everyday for the rest of my life, to protect her, like my father does to me. It's Ritsuko that gives me the strength to do things like this."

"Things like this?"

"Yes, testing you to see if Ritsuko is safe around you. You're a very reclusive and mysterious man, Masaya. I had to make sure Ritsuko wasn't falling into a trap."

"Look, you have nothing to be afraid of. I'm not some monster that's going to rape this entire school."

"I see that now. I guess that I have treated you a little too unfairly. You're not a great man, but you're not a evil one either."

"If that's it then I passed the test, right?"

"I don't even know anymore. I thought you'd fail by the penile erection stage. But you say there's more to sexual arousal than that."

"Well it's the truth."

"I understand. Then we're going into overtime!"

"What the hell do you got up your sleeves this time?"

"Well, we are already in a bathtub so… I'll wash your back."

"Mine? You sure about that."

"Don't act so pleased. It's supposed to be a test."

"I got that. It's just that this is the first time a woman other than my mother when I was a little kid has washed my back." Konomi got up with a splash and I followed suit. "Are you really sure about this?"

"Y-Yes. Now take a seat."

"*sigh* If you insist." I sat down on the stool. A moment later she was behind me, holding her breath.

"…Masaya, are these scars?"

"Hmm… Yeah, pay no attention to them, especially the big one. Got that one for being an idiot, I guess. I forgot, you lot haven't seen me shirtless. I assumed you saw it when you barged into the Red Rose Society room."

"I didn't see them then."

"It must be quite a shock to see so many."

"No, not at all." I reached around to feel the big scar across my back. It was a weird feeling."

"But how did you get these? Especially this big one."

"Most of them I got from the explosion that almost killed me, the big one, I don't know. Like I said I probably got it doing stupid shit with my old friends. One day I woke up in a mansion with a doctor claiming that he found me in a bad way. His name was also coincidentally Masaya. He patched me up and took me back to my parents. It was right before my 10th birthday, when my mother disappeared."

"That can't be. A scar this big, you would remember how you got it."

"You may be right, but I honestly don't remember how I got it." I remembered when the doctor named Masaya showed me a mirror and I saw it for the first time. It was discoloured, meaning it had come from a deep wound. I started from my right shoulder blade to my left hip. I had to crane my neck to get a good look at it. I was horrified. Not just because it was so big, but because I couldn't recall how I got it. I got that same feeling after I woke up from my coma after the incident to see my left arm gone.

"Masaya? Can I see it again."

"I'm not just some zoo animal to look at." I sighed and turned my back to Konomi. She placed her finger tip on it and started to trace the scare. It was a tingling sensation. "Is this another part of your test?" It wasn't as I heard Konomi start talking.

"I knew it… My Grandmother is my fencing sensei, she told me something when I was a little girl."

"What was that she told you."

"'A blade scar means two things. Either the person got it running from the enemy or… that they were protecting someone.'" As she finished her grandmother's saying, the ground started to shake, as a earthquake started.

"Shite, this a big one." I scanned the group to check the quake's magnitude. "It's a 6.0 magnitude." I stood up and activated my mag hands to hold onto the wall, Konomi held onto me tightly. The ground kept shaking, I happened to catch something in the corner of my eye." _Is the faucet turning one?"_ Then the shower head sprayed out boiling hot water, it felt like someone stabbing me with a hundred daggers. "Agh! Fucking shit! Konomi! Get back!" I rushed Konomi, picked her up and ran away from the shower area. "Agh… Jesus, that fuck hurt… you alright, Konomi?" I saw steam coming off my body.

"I'm fine, but you're not! We need to cool you down before you get 2nd degree burns." She took me to another shower and turned it on to gentle cool water. It felt relieving as just a couple a second ago, my back was feeling like it was melting. "Please, turn you back towards me." I did as she asked and had my back to her. "It's turning red…"

"Is there any blistering?"

"No… I don't think so."

"Then it's fine. Are you okay, Konomi?"

"Y-Yes I'm fine, because you… protected me."

"Just doing my job."

"Does it hurt?" Konomi gently touched my back.

"Just a little. It's cooled down now so it doesn't burn as much."

"Do you think this will leave a scar?"

"No, burns never really lead to scarring. Unless it's a 3rd degree." Konomi told me it was just a little red. She was gently rubbing my back when the lights turned off, the power had gone out.

"Ah… What happened?!"

"*sigh* The power's out. Must have been from the earthquake." I put down my tactical visor and activated my night vision. Every thing was dark green except Konomi whose silhouette was yellow, she was backing up into a wall. "You okay, Konomi."

"I-I'm scared of the dark."

"Then let's get out of here. I got my night vision on so just take my hand and follow me. Besides the burns practically gone." Konomi took my hand and we walked to the door but… "Damnit, it won't open."

"What?!"

"The door, it's jammed, it was probably by the earthquake."

"T-That can't be…" Konomi pushes me aside and tried opening the door but it wouldn't budge.

"Konomi, it's no use. The door was probably warped by the quake, it was a pretty big one, after all. Hey! Is anyone around!" I yelled and started banging the door to see if anyone would here but no one answered. "Shite…"

"The bath is on the edge of the building and it's already past light's out time." I checked my clock, it was 2345 so everyone was most likely asleep.

"Shit, you're right." I looked back at Konomi who was trembling and hugging herself. "Here, let's sit down right here." I led her to the wall and sat her down. "Don't worry lass, I'm here with you." I patted her head then sat right next to her. Konomi quickly clung to my arm.

"I'm sorry, I need to do this."

"It's fine, whatever make you feel at ease, love." We sat there in the dark. It felt weird having her up against my arm but I wasn't about object, she clearly needed something to cling to in fear.

"I'm sorry, Masaya."

"You don't have to apologise. And I'm pretty sure someone will be around in the morning, so it's not like we're trapped in here forever."

"I hope you're right." We sat in silence for what felt like hours when I finally started a conversation.

"You say you're scared of the dark, right? What do you do when you go to sleep? Have a little plug-in nightlight next to your bed."

"I leave my desk light on. It keeps me calm during the night."

"I see… personally, I can't sleep with out my room being pitch black. Makes me feel like no one can see me."

"My grandmother once told me to have a light on at all times in room at night, incase of a night raid."

"*scoff* Who would be stupid enough to raid Vincennes. Your grandmother, did she grow up during the Second World War?"

"Yes, she was a little girl during the war, she and her family would constantly drill for when American bombers flew over during bombing raids."

"That's interesting. Good thing my great grandfather put a stop to that at Okinawa."

"I heard about that. My father told me that your great grandfather was the first 'Hero of the Empire' and so was your grandfather, who help my grandparents start their dojo that still operates to this day."

"You're an interesting bird, Konomi. You have such a cute face yet you pride yourself as a warrior. Mignon Poupee, it really does suit you." I heard Konomi give a small whimper but I sounded more playful than embarrassed

"Don't say that, that title doesn't suit me. And you too are a very interesting person, Masaya. You have a cold exterior, but maybe deep down, there's a good person in you. Like your family before you."

"I don't know about that. About your grandmother. Was she the one who taught you how to use a naginata?"

"Yes, she told my father that I had to protect myself when he's not around." She kept on talking about her childhood and I noticed that she was started to get calmer the more we talked. Eventually we both started to feel sleepy.

"Getting sleepy?"

"Yes… I'm usually fast asleep by now."

"You can go to sleep. I don't want you staying up all night."

"I want to but… I can't sleep without something to keep me calm."

"Then I'll stay up until you fall asleep. Here I know a way to get you to fall asleep. My mother told me this story when I was a little kid. 'There once was a man who came from wealth but was the most noblest man in the country. One day he met a girl and was smitten with her, but at the same time, a war was brewing between his country and a neighbouring one. The man led his armies to victory and was rewarded for his bravery. He married the girl he loved and had a child with her. Sadly things weren't meant to be and he was assassinated by those who hated him. But he died without regrets knowing his child will one day carry on his legacy as a noble and just man'. So how was that, Konomi?"

"Zzzz…zzzz" She was fast asleep now. Her head resting on my arm."

"Hmph… goodnight, love." I patted her head and I found myself falling asleep. "Heh… I wonder if I passed her test." I closed my eyes as I fell asleep.

 **May 26th, 2011**

 **0800hrs**

 **Konomi's POV**

"Hmm… the lights are on." I woke up to see the bathroom lights on, as well the lights outside the bathroom. I let out a yawn as my eyes readjusted to the light. "I managed to fall asleep in the dark."

"Hmm…" I heard a gruff moan, I realized that I had been sleeping on an arm, Masaya's arm. I found myself drawn to his cybernetic arms, they really stuck out from the rest of his body. I turned his body over, which was not easy, and looked at his back when I noticed a barcode and words on his shoulder. "'Custom Cyborg Body. Manufactured by Goldman Industries. Made in U.S.A.'" _What is this? His body is fake?!_ I brushed aside the hair on the back of his head covering his neck and saw surgical marks separating his head from his abdomen. _What kind a bomb was it to maim Masaya this bad to get a fake body?_ "I don't know. But this scar is definitely one he got defending someone." I gently placed a finger on his scar and traced it down from his shoulder to his hip.

"Hmm…?"

 **Masaya's POV**

I slowly started to open my eyes with my tactical visor still down. The lights are on as my night vision was really bright. I retracted it and looked around. "*grunt* Good morning love. What time is it?" I looked at my watch and it said 0800.

"I need to wash my face!"

"Ah, I'll go to. Agh!" I started to get off the floor when my back shot up in a bolt of pain.

"Are you okay, Masaya?"

"Fine, just a little back pain." I waved her off and went to wash my face and mouth at the sinks. "*gargle noise*" I was gargling water in my mouth when I heard voices from the other side of the door.

"Huh? The door won't open?"

"Uh, hey, how are doing this morning, love. I don't know how to put this but, the door was warped during the earthquake last night so…"

"Wait a minute. Masaya Okonogi, is that you in there."

"Who else would it be love, 'Where's Waldo'."

"I heard two voices. Who's in there with you. What were you doing in here, do you even have clothes on."

"Hate to bust your bubble, love, but we have on swimsuits."

"Do you think that makes a difference."

"Actually, yeah, it does. But I don't want to argue about swimsuits, I want to get the hell out of this bathroom and back to my dorm to get ready for class." _Shite, I'm gonna get expelled at this rate._

"W-Wait!"

"Wait, Ms, Katou."

"Is that Konomi? Are you alright in there?" _Oh, now she cares._

I'm fine, there's no problem whatsoever here. Well except that we're stuck in here. And Masaya is not a Tentateur Serpent. He protected me all night."

"Ms. Yanase, do you understand what you are saying? You said that you two were in here all night long. What in God's name were you doing in there?"

"Well…"

"It's my fault, teacher." Konomi looked at me surprised. I just smirked at winked at her and mouthed 'Follow my lead'. "I just wanted to try out the public bath area after Rise told me about it. So I wanted to take a dip in the pool without any girls in here. Wouldn't want that would you. Anyway, Konomi showed up thinking she was alone so that she can practice her doggy paddle."

"Doggy paddle?" I looked at Konomi and she nodded.

"Yes, he's right. I thought that since summer isn't that far from now, I wanted to work on my doggy paddle in here since the pool doesn't open until next month.

"I see… Anyway we have to get this door open. I expect you to explain to the headmistress about coming here after lights out."

"Great…"

"What was that, Mr. Okonogi?"

"Nothing, just glad I didn't have to bust down another door." The teacher left to get help and I couldn't be happier.

"I lied to a teacher. I've never lied to a teacher before."

"Eh… it's not such a big deal. Little white lies won't kill anybody, usually."

"*giggle* I guess you're right." Konomi smiled at me, one of the first times she ever did. "Are you okay, you're smiling? That's quite rare for you to do."

"It's nothing, love." The teacher came back with a few other teachers, including Sister Mishima, to pry open the door. As they worked on the door I asked Konomi something. "So, did I pass your test?"

"Ah… yes, you passed."

"Hmm… that's good." Even though we managed to keep our real reason for being in the bathroom a secret. We still weren't saved from a long tongue lashing from the Headmistress for breaking school rules. After it was all over, we walked outside her office and shared a couple smiles and laughs like friends.

 **1230hrs**

"*yawn*" Me and the White Lily and Red Rose girls were eating lunch in the Rose Garden.

"You're awfully tired today Masaya. You didn't even slick back your hair to the side today." Earlier in the week I went shopping with Yusuke and he got me a box set of hair pomade to use. _"Here you go Mas, use this to style your hair to really impress those girls."_ It wasn't until Yusuke brought it up that I realised how long my hair was getting, it was at point where I had hair down to my upper shoulders and bangs reaching past my eyepatch, not like I could see from my left eye anyway. I was glad that no one found out about what happened, I had to charm the teachers into not telling anyone besides the headmistress.

"I didn't get much sleep, that earthquake woke me up in the middle of the night."

"I guess that makes sense, it was a big earthquake."

"Yeah, 6.0 on the Richter scale."

"It was quite a shock to Panterbell as well. He was so frightened, he started crying."

"The earthquake caused the power to go out, though most of us were asleep by then."

"But what about the goods in the refrigerator? I hope none of it got spoiled."

"I'm sure the school had back up generators that turned on when the main ones went out."

"Heh… I just wish my room had a back up generator. I fell off my bed and hit my shin on my coffee table and tipped over a box of .45 ammo. Had a hard time picking up back up even with my night vision activated." We ate lunch and then had some tea together.

"Hey, I just realized, where's Konomi?"

"I haven't seen her. Do you need her for anything, Ayaka?"

"No. Just wondering if Mr. Okonogi's lessons paid off."

"Mr Okonogi's lessons…? What did you two do?"

"Let's just say, Masaya taught Konomi some valuable lessons."

"What kind of lessons?"

"I also am concerned. What did you and Masaya teach Konomi?"

"Okay, we taught Konomi…" Ayaka held a dramatic pause. "Sex education." All the girls shot up in surprised. Ritsuko in particular had her eyes bulging in shock.

"You taught Konomi… sexual education?"

"Yep, remember when you had to apologize to Masaya for her. Well to prevent that from happening again, we told Konomi some very important things about sex. Masaya was such a good sport. He gave acted out a lot of examples."

"What?! Act out examples?!"

"Very funny, Ayaka. I got a joke to. Imagine if a boy from a shoujo manga appeared out of the blue. What would you do?" I explained to the girls what happened in the classroom. "Look, there was not acting out anything. I just read from a textbook."

"Oh thank goodness. For a second I thought you did something bad."

"No. But he honestly was a pretty good teacher. I think Konomi got the gist of his lesson. He even gave let us know about his first shot."

"First shot?"

"First shot of what? His firearm?"

"No, Ayaka was talking about his first ejaculation. So how old were you?"

"Are you really going to ask. This isn't exactly a very tea appropriate conversation."

"You got a point." The girls got quiet with only Ayaka still talking.

"Anyway, at the end of the day, I'm sure Masaya got through Konomi's perceived thoughts. How did it go after I left?"

"Well… I can only hope she understood."

"I see… well, as long she doesn't accuse you of getting her pregnant again."

"Ah… speaking about Konomi. She's coming this way." Ritsuko raised her hand an Konomi came to us a little quicker.

"Salutations, everyone."

"Salutations. What held you back?"

"I uh… I wanted to see Masaya right after the bell rang but he had already left."

"Hold on, you wanted to see me?" The girls all turned to me in suspicion.

"There's something I wanted to tell you clearly. From today forward, I'll stop referring to you as the Tentateur Serpent. I now understand that that's not what you are."

"Oh, well… thanks."

"That said. I know you're not a saint but you're still a good man. Which means that there is no reason to forcibly expel you from school. However I am an affiliate for the Red Rose Society and it's leader is my Onee-sama. You understand, right?"

"Yeah, I'm just glad that you're not trying to hang me from a tree because I looked at you.

"My… this is interesting. What caused you to pull a 180 that quick, Konomi?" After Ayaka asked that question, I just sat there and pulled out a cigarette when Konomi snitched on both of us.

"We had a naked date." The second Konomi said those words, all the girls had their mouths agape in shock. I just turned my head away and blew out some smoke. "That's when I realized that, while Masaya does feel sexual arousal towards me. He's just a normal male." As Konomi kept talking, I just sat there waiting for the Rise and Chiho to jump me. Eventually Konomi realised that the girls were shocked and stopped talking. "I'm sorry. It's just that we spent the night talking about male erections and sexual arousal that I…" I frantically got out of my chair and grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Shut… up!"

"B-But-"

"No buts! Just shut your mouth!" I looked Konomi dead in the eye when I heard something like cats growing.

"Oh boy. Rise and Chiho have that look in their eyes again."

"Oh look at the time. I have to get going. Salutations."

"Ah.., I need to go as well." Ritsuko got up almost in a panic.

"I think I'll go with Ritsuko and Konomi." Mitsuki got up and followed after Konomi and Ritsuko.

"Well, I think I should get on out of here. I need to rest up for a minute in my room." I got and started to walk away when Ayaka and Ruriko grabbed me by the arms and held me in place.

"You got some explaining to do, Masaya."

"Look girls, I really need to go, I got a text from my boss. I need to go to work." I was coming up with excuses when I heard something that made me frightened to the bone.

 **Rise and Chiho.** "Masaya…"

I slowly turned around and gave a cheeky smile at the two girls. "How you two lasses doing today?" They slowly approached me. I could sense the anger in them. I just wanted to get out of there. The two girls grabbed by the collar like they did when Ayaka joined the group and started interrogating me.

"What the hell was she talking about?!"

"You better explain to us at once." I was trying to talk but they were chocking me to the point where I couldn't talk. _I guess this is how I go out._ They eventually let me go and I told them everything.

 **End of Chapter 9**

 **That concludes Chapter 9, stay tuned for Chapter 2: Childhood Friends Reunite revised and Chapter 10: Example of a Good Samaritan.**


	11. Chapter 10: Example of a Good Samaritan

**Chapter 10: Example of a Good Samaritan**

 **May 30th, 2011**

 **Vincennes Private Girls Academy, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **1615hrs**

 **Now Playing: Going out on a Summer Day- Princess Evangile OST**

It was Monday the following week and we all gathered around for the weekly approval ratings. "Everyone, look at this. There was a great increase in support." Rise showed everyone the report.

"Wow, that's a pretty big jump." Ayaka shook her head and looked surprised.

"I wonder why though…" Ritsuko places a hand on her chin and looked like she was thinking.

"Maybe it's because the girls here have slowly gone mad for Masaya and his masculine physique." Ruriko was of course guessing the most wildest theory as to why my approval ratings jumped up.

"I don't think it's quite that, Ruriko." Chiho quickly shot down Ruriko's theory.

"Hmm… have you been a gentleman for some of the students here, Masaya?" Rise asked as if she had no idea about what the cause was.

"Nope, I'm still the same heartless bastard to these girls." Chiho and Rise looked at each other and shook their heads in unison when Ritsuko gave an explanation.

"Perhaps it may be because of Konomi's softening attitude towards Masaya. The story about what happened between you two was reported on by Tamie after we learned about it the next day." Of course I was keen on keeping the story under wraps but Konomi ended up telling everyone what happened which caused me to nearly get strangled to death by Rise and Chiho. "Look here. It says that you saw him in a new light. I assume that's what caused others to revaluate their thoughts on Masaya."

"All I said was that I no longer consider him a Tentateur Serpent."

"Exactly. You started to change on how you felt about Masaya."

"I… You may be right, Onee-sama. I thought that no one would be influenced by me."

"Well, it appears that's quite the opposite. You were one of the most vocal anti-Masaya people at this school, after all."

"You're telling me. When I sat down with Konomi for the interview, she spoke highly about Masaya. I was so confused that halfway through I wondered if this was even Konomi I was interviewing. I do wonder though, did you two secretly share a passionate baiser in the darkness?"

"If we did, then I'm pretty sure Chris Hanson would've had an American SWAT team break in to my windows to arrest me." I was making a joke but I was honestly scared of what would happen to me if I did share a romantic moment with Konomi, and what her father would have done to me if he found out.

"You're always one with the jokes, Masaya…" Ritsuko put a hand on her head in a annoyed look but quickly went back to her normal self. I looked at Konomi and she smiled shyly at me. I returned the smile much to Rise, Chiho, and even Ayaka's displeasure.

"Everyone, I just want to make one thing clear." Konomi spoke up after a while. "Although my personal opinion towards Masaya have changed. I am still a member of the Red Rose Society and as such I am Ritsuko's ally before Masaya's." Konomi reaffirmed what she had said the following week after the bathroom incident."

"Well, this has been fun. But we should start splitting up for the day and get to our dorms for homework." Rise broke off the gathering and we all headed back to our dorms.

 **No POV**

 **Student Council Office, Maria Hall, Vincennes Private Girls Academy**

 **Now Playing: Mozart/Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C Major, K 229 #1- Princess Evangile OST**

Mitsuki arrived after school to meet with Marika to discuss the recent jump in approval of Masaya. "Onee-sama, this is bad news. Masaya's approval ratings have increased pretty big since last week."

Mitsuki placed the report on Marika's desk who picked it up and started to read the report.

"Hmm… you're right, Mitsuki. This is quite the jump." Marika put the paper down and looked at Mitsuki.

"At this rate, that man might actually be able to pass the Premier Judgement."

"Oh well, I guess we'll let the wheels of fate determine if he'll make it past his judgement." Marika took a odd position on the matter. Not supporting yet not demonising the report. "Although I'm still yet to determine whether he is a righteous man or not. I cannot deny what the student body is starting to think about him."

"You're right, as always. Anyway, I need to leave now. I'll continue to keep an eye on him for you, Onee-sama." Mitsuki left the room, Marika was now completely alone in her office when she started to call her grandmother, Mrs. Myougi.

"Hello, Grandmother. This is Marika. I wanted to discuss with you about the transfer student, Masaya Okonogi. I wanted to inform you that he may be a righteous man, the other girls seem to be starting to warm up towards him. I just wanted to let you also know that this may not go as you planned. What?! Are you being serious?! He can't be…" Marika was seemingly at a lose for words. "What are you suggesting? Entrapment? Forgery? But isn't that a dishonest thing to do? Grandmother, I can't be allowed that I do what you are suggesting. Grandmother I-" Before Marika could answer, Mrs. Myougi had hung up on Marika. Marika looked panicked. "I can't believe it… what my grandmother is saying… I can't possibly be considered righteous and honorable."

 **June 1st, 2011**

 **Now Playing: Calmly and Peacefully- Princess Evangile OST**

It was the change of seasons and the temperature was starting to rise. I grabbed a can of strawberries from my pantry and ate it for breakfast then headed outside for class. _Hmm… there's something different about the other students. That's right… by this time at Eitatsu we had started to wear our summer uniforms._ As Vincennes didn't have a male school uniform I was allowed to wear anything that didn't have me affiliate with a gang or anything with profanity on it. So my uniform was basically my coat that I bought a while back, a white button up shirt underneath, my standard issue pair of black dress trousers tucked into my ankle-high commando boots. I was walking to the main building when I caught a glimpse of Ritsuko walking into the cathedral. _I remember her saying that she goes there every day._ It was during the time that Ayaka was sending on a wild goose chase for 'Plaisanterie', which we all know what happened after that. But what had me wondering was why did she go to the cathedral every morning. _Is it because she's a Christian?_ Despite being founded on a Christian mission, most of the girls at the school were either Shinto or irreligious. Either way I followed Ritsuko into the cathedral and saw her at the alter on her knees praying like she did the last time. After finishing her prayers she turned around towards me as I was leaning up against one of the seats.

 **Now Playing: Elegant Thorn(Ritsuko's Theme)-Princess Evangile OST**

"Oh? Hello, Masaya. Did you come here to pray?"

"Nah, I was walking around when I saw you walking in here."

"I see… So what is it that you need from me?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you. I feel that after what happened with Ayaka and you finding out who I really am, I still hardly know anything about you besides being Rise's rival and the daughter to the headmistress."

"I'm not a very interesting person, Masaya, at least compared to you. I will ask though, what are you going to wear as your summer uniform?"

"I don't know, I don't usually feel the heat unless I'm wearing a heavy jacket meant for hiking up a tall mountain. I guess I'll take off my coat during the school day." Ritsuko nodded and looked down for a second before looking up again.

"I must be going. Excuse me." Ritsuko started to walk away towards the cathedral entrance when I spoke up.

"Hey, Ritsuko. I have to ask you this. Are you still against integration?" I looked at her and she started to hesitate a little.

"O-Of course. I am the leader of the Red Rose Society." I gave her a suspicious look and started smoking a cigarette.

"If I may, I don't buy that for a second. I know you didn't want to be the leader, you were pressured into it by Mitsuki and her master, Marika." I walked up to Ritsuko "Look I know how you feel. You're a very obedient girl, but that's the problem, your compliance to whatever someone says can be used by others to manipulate you to do something against your greater judgment. Believe me when I say that I've been in your shoes. I used to follow anyone's orders even when I knew they were wrong, but that changed when I became a commando. Now there's only two people I take orders from. Myself and Konomi's father, Colonel Ryuto Yanase."

"I-I believe that gender integration is a way to get more finances, but not a flawless one. I see myself as a conservative and I want this place to continue to remain an all-girl's school." She turned back around when I said something that struck another nerve with her.

"Is that what **you** really believe? Or is that what your mother wants you to believe?" It was a simple question but Ritsuko was taken aback by it before saying to me.

"If that's what my mother believes, then I will believe it too. Good day, Masaya." Ritsuko walked out the door and I stood there thinking to myself. _That girl's blind devotion to her mother is very bad. Her mother knows that and is manipulating her. It kind of reminds me of 'The Boss' when he turned me into 'The Ripper'._ I put out my cigarette in a portable ashtray and headed to class.

 **1230hrs**

 **Now Playing: Thoughtless as Usual- Princess Evangile OST**

My conversation with Ritsuko was still fresh in my mind. While it is good to respect you parent's wishes, you have to also take control of your own life and live it how you want to. _Maybe it's because I'm just some dirty orphan that doesn't have any respected parents._ I started spacing out when Rise tapped my shoulder. "Hey, Masaya. Are you alright? You've been spacing out all day."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I had a conversation with Ritsuko earlier today and well… I think there's something going on behind the scenes with her and Mitsuki."

"Like what?" Rise turned her head in confusion.

"I don't know. I feel that Mitsuki is playing her like a puppet, as is her mother."

"I don't want to agree but, you may be right. I know Mitsuki as of late is become very manipulative. As for the headmistress… there's beyond enough a shadow of a doubt that she's influencing Ritsuko in one way or another."

"…The odds are stacked heavily against us. We have the supposed 'impartial' student council that has taken a very hard stance on anti-integration as well as this anti-Masaya movement going on.

"And even when we have my grandmother. She's fully dedicated to letting the students decide for themselves about whether or not the school should be integrated."

"It's like I told Ritsuko. Too many girls here just go with whatever someone else says and not what they truly believe. If their precious Marika is hell bent on driving me out of here, then that's what they'll do to appease her own beliefs. Anyway, I'm going to go get lunch, see you later Rise." I waved at Rise and went to the dining hall to eat. As I was eating, Ayaka came up to me. "Oh, yo, Ayaka." I don't know why but I found myself talking different around Ayaka.

 **Now Playing: Always at Own Pace(Ayaka's Theme)-Princess Evangile OST**

"Yo? What does that mean?"

"I don't really know. It's just a common form of Hello in the 'normal world'." I noticed that I had started to refer to anything outside Vincennes was the 'normal world' as Vincennes seemed like it was it's own country with it's own language.

"That's cool. What are doing sitting by yourself? Don't you usually sit with Rise?"

"Yeah but every time we eat together, the other girls start to whisper and talk about us. I don't really care what they think of me while Rise gets pretty upset. I don't think she could handle people talking behind her back." I finished telling Ayaka why I was alone and took a big bite out of the hamburger I got for lunch.

"Lucky for you that I also don't care what the others think." Ayaka gave me a playful smile and took a seat right next to me. "Although if I'm being serious, it's pretty depressing to see you sitting by yourself. Right now you're Masaya Okonogi the student not Lieutenant Okonogi, the commando." Ayaka gave me a pat on the back for encouragement.

"Thanks, Ayaka. You may be a pain in the arse but you can be actually very caring when you need to be."

"Hey, I'm not a 'pain in the arse'!" Ayaka put on her best(really bad) impression of me and used air quotes. "Is today's food good?"

"Of course, every lunch since I got here has been good, great even."

"True. The food here is probably one of Vincennes' highlights."

"Yeah, even if the food wasn't good, anything would better that my usual meal growing up after my mom disappear. One anpan and a can of evaporated milk."

"That must have been bad. I guess military rations weren't any better."

"My rations are more meant to give me necessary nutrients, not to taste like Gordon Ramsey prepared it." Ayaka and I continued to eat. She had a carbonara while I had my hamburger. "You know, I've never had a gourmet hamburger in my life, I've only ever had the ones you get at a fast food joint. That carbonara looks good too."

"It's good, the sauce is just right. Rich and creamy. You wanna try some?" Ayaka got some noodles and held the chop sticks towards me. "Say, ah!"

"Why did I have to open my big mouth…" I sighed and knitted my brows.

"*giggle* You're too cute when you get flustered, a nice contrast to your usual moody nature." Although I tried to act like I regretted, I did, to an extent enjoy Ayaka's light teasing. We are in silence until Ayaka spoke up. "So, Rise told me about how you were talking with Ayaka at the cathedral. What were you two doing in such a holy spot?"

"I saw her walk in and I went up to talk to her. Apparently she preys at the alter everyday."

"Wow… I'm her sister and I didn't even know that she goes to the cathedral before class everyday." Ayaka dropped her usual playful self for a more serious expression. "What does she pray for."

"Beats me… probably eternal happiness or something like that. I had wanted to ask Ritsuko but she left before I can ask."

"What did you guys end up talking about?" I shrugged and told Ayaka everything that happened that morning. "Hmm… I think there's something going on about all this too. Ritsuko is a rule stickler sure, but that's because Mother wanted her to be her picture perfect daughter. Especially by that point she had already considered me a lost cause." Ayaka laughed weakly at her words.

"I don't know, I could be wrong about this. It's just that… well, I saw what type of mother the headmistress is, and it ain't pretty."

"You're not wrong. I should know, I popped out of her first. Anyway, about the Premier Judgement, Do we have a plan? It's coming quicker than I'd like." Ayaka shifted the discussion from Ritsuko to the Premier Judgement, which was steadily approaching.

"I don't know, usually it's Rise that comes up with the plans."

"You know, for being a commando, you're awfully laid back when it comes to your time left at Vincennes. Look, we need to really get our butts in gear, the Judgement is a month away and we've already gone two months with almost nothing to show." For the first time since joining, Ayaka was taking the matter of integration serious for once. "Right now, you're stand at 45 girls that actually approve of you. The majority we need to even let you stay is 232 students. As you can tell, we can't exactly laze around anymore."

"You're right. We're gonna need something big to get my approval ratings to jump by 194 student by when…?"

"July 9th."

"Shite… by July 9th. Ayaka, you weren't a member when Rise proposed this but… she had a plan that she called her 'Rising Tide' policy. Basically it told us to find any opportunity to get my approval ratings up. I think that with everything that's been happening from you're attempted kidnapping to our little educational detour with Konomi, we've put the plan on the back burner of our minds. Doesn't help in my case since I'm in the middle of hunting down an international terrorist that plans to start a third bloody world war." During our walk back to Vincennes that night Ritsuko and I rescued Ayaka, I had told the two about my mission to hunt down and kill/capture Suzukaze Sakamoto.

"Yeah, but we won't let some terrorist be the reason you leave. I think it's time we put Rise's 'Rising Tide' policy to work."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know yet but I'll think up of something by our meeting after school."

"That's reassuring..," I let out a little grown. I knew Ayaka was being serious about getting my approval ratings to 232, but I still was suspicious of any plan she brewed in that head of hers. Especially after the sex-ed class we gave Konomi.

"Can you even go a day without making a sarcastic comment?" Ayaka genuinely looked annoyed.

"I would, but I don't like pretending to be something I'm not." I gave Ayaka a cheeky smile and started walking away.

"What do you mean you don't like that? You pretend to be someone else everyday."

 **1615hrs**

 **Maria Hall, Vincennes Private Girls Academy**

 **Now Playing: Going out on a Sunny Day- Princess Evangile OST**

"Hey, Rise. Do you have any plans regarding Masaya's approval rating situation?" Ayaka approached Rise with the question.

"Uh… I'm sorry, I haven't thought of much. I know it needs work but…"

"But nothing, Rise. Like I told Masaya here. We need 232 votes to win, while right now we have 45 votes, not including us. Masaya told me of this plan you hatched up awhile back call the 'Rising Tide' policy and I think it's time we start putting the plan into motion.

"Hmm… you're right. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that we started giving out leaflets around the school."

"Leaflets?" Chiho gave Ayaka a confused look at turned her head towards me, I just shrugged my shoulders and gave Chiho a 'I don't know' look.

"Yeah, listen to this. We put info about Masaya on these leaflets and give them out to others students to pique their interests about Masaya."

"Information about Masaya? Is it things like his height, weight, eyesight, and physical physique."

"I guess, that and some other general things about him like his hobbies and interests."

"That's a good idea, Ayaka. I say we start on them now so we don't waste anymore time." Rise, as always jumped at the opportunity to get my approval ratings up and got out some pens and paper from her bag. While she was getting our the supplies, Ayaka turned to me.

"You can go back to your dorm early today, Masaya."

"Why? Shouldn't I be hear, these leaflets are about me, right?"

"Yeah, it's just that you probably got a lot on your plate and we'd rather you get that done before this."

"I don't really trust you. Are you gonna make some stuff up for the leaflets?"

"We might have to. It's not like you're a complete mystery or anything. Besides, who's to say you won't lie as well. Now stop grumbling and get on out of here, Mr. Grumpy,"

Ayaka walked behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. "We're gonna make you an 'ideal Masaya'. Ayaka patted my shoulders, I rolled my eyes and started to walk out. As I opened the door to the society room, I turned to see all four of the girls huddling around each other and whispering something. _Jesus, it's like a bloody congregation of wicked witches._ I walked out and went back to dorm when I got a call from Colonel Yanase.

"Yes, Colonel."

"Hello, Masaya. Are you free by any chance?"

"Yeah, I just got out from a society meeting. Why? Is there something wrong."

"Thankful not yet. I was just wondering if you'd like to have something to eat."

"For dinner? Yeah, I haven't ate since lunch."

"Good. Meet me at the Pappatore Moonrock in about two hours." I hung up my phone and walked over to the gate. I lied to Captain Suzuki that their was an emergency and that I was called in to handle it. She just nodded and opened the gate. I got on my motorcycle and headed for the city.

 **1830hrs**

 **Pappatore Moonrock, Tsurugigoaka, Japan**

 **Now Playing: Calmly and Peacefully- Princess Evangile OST**

"It's good to see you, Masaya."

"You too, Colonel." I shook Yanase's hand when he gave a little laugh.

"You don't have to be so formal, Masaya. You can call me Ryuto, you're my old friend's son, after all."

"Sorry, it's just that I'm used to calling you Colonel." I took a seat and Ryuto ordered us a meal.

"So how are things at Vincennes?" Ryuto asked me the question while we ate.

"Eh.., not what I expected. It's like a whole different world there."

"Yes, Konomi told me that when she first started attending Vincennes. Speaking of which, you two got in to some trouble about a week ago concerning a bathroom and a 'naked date'." _Damnit Konomi…_

"Uh… yeah about that. Konomi was very… irrational about men and myself and a fellow student named Ayaka made a plan, and well… Ayaka came up with a plan to teach Konomi about intercourse and how babies were made since she got all her knowledge from manga and had a hard time paying attention in health class. Anyway to put a long story short, she doesn't hate me anymore and she now knows what to do on her wedding night when the time comes." Ryuto looked very stern at me before starting to laugh.

"It's that what this all about. My best commando, teaching a sex-ed class to his commander's daughter. Well, I can't be mad, I actually appreciate you doing that. I can't really be there as much as I like and you're kinda of my liaison to her. Which also brings me to this question. How many people know who you really are.

"…More than I'd like. Ayaka Kitamikado and her younger sister Ritsuko, and some of the security officers there."

"Hmm… how much do they know?"

"Just a little. All they know is that I'm an Imperial Commando and that I'm on the Counter-Terrorist Team. I intend to keep it that way."

"Hmm… I think we should leave. Those men over there have been glaring at us for some time. Don't worry I'll pay the bill." Yanase called over the waiter and paid the bill and we left the restaurant. We stopped for a bit to smoke some cigarettes and talk. "So how is the integration thing going?"

"Not bad, but not good either. Rise is determined that we'll make it. You know, nothing means more to me than those girls. We share a bond that's thicker than blood, that bond is the most real thing that I've ever had. I would kill for them and happily lay down my life for them."

"Is that so? You know, Yuuji he- he had a code similar to yours that he instilled into the men he commanded during the war. He told me he would save those who need saving, and he will kill those who threaten them. Yuuji always fought for those that couldn't fight for themselves, he was a true man of the people. He was adored by many and hated by some."

"You think my uncle would've protested the war in China if he was still alive?"

"I wouldn't doubt for a second that he would. Most level headed people in the Imperial Staff were against it but… the emperors word is law and we ended up in China anyway."

"Hmm… if only he was still alive…" I took a look at my watch, it was already eight o' clock in the evening. "I need to start heading back."

 **Now Playing: The Shootist- Red Dead Redemption OST**

I started walking to the train station with Ryuto. We walked through an ally to take a short cut when I heard a gun shot close by. Ryuto and I pulled out our pistols. He had a slightly worn M1911A1 that he had since the Soviet-Japanese War. "Show yourself. I am Colonel Ryuto Yanase of the Imperial Japanese Army, I won't take kindly what you did." I looked around the ally for anyone when a man came out of the shadows.

"We know who you are, Colonel Yanase. We're not here for you, we're here for him." The man pointed his Glock 17 at me. "Masaya Okonogi, it's an honor to finally meet you."

"Who are you and what do you want with me?!" _Shit, is he another one of 'The Boss' goons._

"I'm no one in particular. Just a guy with his friends trying to make a quick buck. You're a wanted man, Mr. Okonogi, there's quite a price on your head and we want it. Now I don't want to kill you or the good Colonel here, but I will if I must." I looked at Ryuto who nodded at me.

"Okay then. At least you had the decency to give me an option, I'm all yours. Pick your battles as my old man used to say." I holstered my M1911A1 and started walking up to the bounty hunters with my hands up. I turned to Ryuto again and mouthed 'Follow my lead.'.

"I knew you were a smart kid. Boys, cuff him and let's get him out of here." The posse leader signalled to his goons and they walked up to me. I waited until they were right in front of me when I clenched my left hand to signal Ryuto to start firing at the posse. I quickly pulled out my M1911A1 and shot the two goons in the head before firing the rest of the bullets in my magazine and taking cover. "We gave the chance to give yourself up, Okonogi, I know I won't get that extra reward but 100,000,000 yen is still good money." The remaining members of the posse were firing at Ryuto and I. I stuck my head out a little and picked off some of the posse members. I saw the leader start making a run for it when I shot him in the leg. "Damnit! Hey, let's cut a deal. I'll tell 'The Boss' that you killed yourself so I can get the money and leave you alone. Please, Mr. Okonogi. I have a family." I looked at the man who started crying crocodile tears and shot him right in the forehead before holstering my M1911A1. I checked his body and found a folded piece of paper in his pocket. _Wanted: Dead or Alive. Masaya Okonogi. Reward: 100,000,000¥ plus bonus reward if captured alive._

"More of 'The Boss' goons, Masaya?"

"No, he knows I'm here in Tsurugigoaka but instead of sending in his own men, he's using bounty hunters. Never would've thought that I'd be worth more than a penny." 100,000,000 yen was way more than I would've like to have personally but I couldn't necessarily turn myself in.

"This is an awful lot of money. If I turned you in, I'll be able to retire right here and now. I'm joking, Masaya. Look, you need to get out of here. I'll report this to the police. I'll see you soon, Masaya." Ryuto went back into town to get the police while I went to the train station. I turned my motorcycle on when a woman in crutches approached me.

"Excuse me, Sir. My car broke down and I broke my leg about week ago. Can I get a ride to my apartment?"

"Uh… sure, hop on." I helped the woman onto my bike and I got back on. "Thank you! What's you name if you don't mind me asking?"

"My name…? My name is John, John Marston. I'm a foreigner from England, I moved here about a year ago." John Marston was an alias my father came up with for me to use while we were on the run. Honestly if it wasn't for my European blood, a blind old man would've seen through the name. I dropped the woman of at her apartment. "Thank you, Mr. Marston, I don't know what I would've done without you. Be safe." I waved goodbye at her and I rode back to Vincennes. _I wonder what exactly those girls thought up for those leaflets._

 **June 2nd, 2011**

 **1230hrs**

 **Maria Hall, Vincennes Private Girls Academy**

 **Now Playing: The Usual Times- Princess Evangile OST**

During lunch we all gathered in the White Lily Society room to go over the leaflets that the girls care up with. Tamie had come along as Rise wanted to ask her if we can use the printer that the News club used. "Okay everyone. Here are some samples we made. Let's review to make sure we got everything squared away. We want to get these out there by the end of the day."

"This is great. No one in Vincennes' history has ever made self promoting leaflets for approval ratings. Is it a coincidence that ever since Masaya came here, I've had scoop after scoop of hot topics to cover." Tamie was patting herself on the back as Rise started organising the sample leaflets on the table. "Hey, Rise. Is it cool if I read one?"

"Of course, I don't mind if you do." Tamie went over to pick up a leaflet

"We had some trouble agreeing to what we should put on them so we just went with what we wanted to put. I think it came out pretty good in my opinion." As Ayaka was talking I saw Tamie start to give a confused look and looked at the leaflet then at the girls.

"What is this?"

"Let's just say that the thing we had trouble agreeing on was who the ideal Masaya was. We may have gone overboard in a few places." Ayaka giggled sheepishly

"Rise, can you tell me what this means?" Tamie showed the leaflet to Rise. Tamie's reaction had me curious, I grabbed a leaflet from the table and started reading it. What I read made it clear why the girls didn't want me there when they came up with ideas.

"What the bloody hell is this?"

"I think I get you, Rise. But if I'm being honest, how is this going to help Masaya? I mean look at this. 'Favorite type of girl: Same age or older. A ratio of 3:1 say same age is better'. What the heck does this has to do with Masaya?" The girls just giggled as Tamie kept on reading. "'Age when he found his first love: He still hasn't found it, or maybe very recently, or maybe when he was in elementary school'. So which one is it?" The girls just kept giggling as Tamie and I stood there dumbfounded. "'Favorite animal: a cat, a dog, a horse, or Panterbell'."

"I picked a cat because they're at lot like Masaya. Free and independent, if not a little moody."

"I picked a dog because there are man's best friend."

"I picked a horse because I'm pretty good at riding them."

"I obviously picked Panterbell. He is the best pet anyone could have." All four of the girls gave their reason to why they picked a favorite and Tamie just nodded before answering.

"I thought this was a question for Masaya's favorite animal, not you guy's." The girls finally stopped giggling and started to look at each other in concern.

"I guess that we were so invested in the leaflets, we forgot what this was for."

"I see… so, are you all gonna go through with this?"

"I agree with Tamie. You lot don't think that this plan might not work."

"Ah, you're worrying too much, Masaya. It'll be fine, trust me."

"The last time I trusted you, you gave Konomi that bloody hentai mang-HMPH." Ayaka put a hand over my mouth.

"Now, now, my little Massie boy, We promised never to bring that up again." She removed her hand from my mouth.

"I agree with Ayaka. I feel that the combined zeal from all of us will let us prevail." I tried to argue against going forward with the leaflets when I gave in to them and let out a sigh.

"Fine. It's not like I have a bloody choice."

"Then everyone is in agreement? Cool, I'll run a survey later today and have some students give there opinion of the matter. I should have the results by tomorrow. I'll be going now, see ya guys." Tamie walked out of the room. Soon after, the other girls walked out with leaflets in their hands. I pulled out a cigarette and started smoking it.

"*sigh* I have a bad feeling about this…" I finished my cigarette and then walked back to class.

 **June 3rd, 2011**

 **Now Playing: Thoughtless as Usual- Princess Evangile OST**

Unsurprisingly, the leaflet plan was a complete failure. "Tamie, are you sure this is right?" Rise asked that as she read the survey.

"Of course it's the whole thing. I wouldn't show you an incomplete survey." Rise took one last look at the results before sighing and nodding dejectedly. I took the report to see what it was. It was organised by question to answer. The question I was looking for what. 'Now that you've read the leaflets. 'Has you opinion about Masaya Okonogi increased?' The answer were on a scale from very much yes to very much no. Of all the people Tamie surveyed, not a single person put even a little bit. Another sheet had comments from the other students which all usually started with 'What is this?'

"Geez, we got 97 responses, and not a single one was a yes." Ayaka looked at the paper and gave a dejected look towards the floor.

"Although the results aren't quite what I wanted. I still am impressed you got that many people in so little time, Tamie."

"Thanks, Rise. Like I said yesterday, this is a big year for Vincennes and I'm honored as a reporter to be a part of this groundbreaking fight for gender integration." We were reeling in from the unfavourable results when Rise let out a breath that she had been holding in.

"I wonder, where did we go wrong."

"It's you're guy's fault." Ayaka spoke up and started playing the 'I knew this was a bad idea' card even though she was part of, if not the biggest part of the FUBAR **(Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition)** that was the leaflet plan. "I'm just saying, Rise, you put scones for you're answer while Chiho put fried pote-pote for her answer and Ruriko put baguettes."

"But Ayaka, everyone knows that scones with black tea is the best. Plus, scones originate from Great Britain, where Masaya's mother is from." _That doesn't mean it's my favourite food. It's just like any regular biscuit to me._

"I picked the pote-pote because my grandma makes some really good pote-pote when I was growing up. Masaya would have some occasionally when he and his mother would come over."

"I decided that it was a fresh baguette. It's Panterbell's favorite and Masaya seems to like them."

"This what I'm saying. Obviously his favorite food Is castella." Tamie and I just looked at each other In confusion.

"So… which one even is it, Masaya?"

"*sigh* It's amazing how dead wrong you lot were. My favorite food is a bag of potato chips." After I told them that, all the girls looked dejected and looked down at the floor.

"Geez… you guys didn't even get the 'po' in potato. Well, at least we know why this plan took a nose dive and failed."

"Yes, all because we didn't let Masaya answer the questions himself. I'm sorry, Masaya." Rise bowed in apologies.

"It's fine, love. I'm just glad my disapproval ratings went up."

"So, what do we do now? We tried leaflets so now what?" As Chiho was talking, there was a knock at the door. Rise let them in and it was all three of the Red Rose Society girls I knew. Mitsuki, Ritsuko, and Konomi.

"Salutations, everyone." Mitsuki waved hello at the girls, I grabbed a cigarette from my coat pocket and started smoking it.

"What is it that you need, Mitsuki?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to know about the whole leaflet thing you all did. I read some during class and I must say that I'm at a lost of words." Mitsuki said this in an almost mocking tone, which irritated Rise and I.

"I agree with Mitsuki. I read one and it made see Masaya as even more confusing and mysterious to see who he really is." Although Ritsuko technically knew who I was, she still wasn't sure about my past as the rest of the girls were. "If these are true, then you certainly have a broad taste, Masaya." I just sarcastically laughed and let out some smoke away from the girls.

"If I'm being honest here, Rise. These leaflets were utter nonsense from beginning to end. How did you manage to mess this up?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this but for once I agree with Mitsuki. Rise, what the bloody hell where you thinking, these leaflets could've been an easy way for people to know me."

"Well, we just…" Rise explained to Mitsuki her plan when Mitsuki just started laughing.

"You all sound like quarrelling children."

"Hey, we were serious about this."

"That may be the case, Rise. But shouldn't you have gotten Masaya's approval first. It sounds like you tried to push your own version of Masaya onto the leaflet."

"I know you're right, Ritsuko. I guess we got caught in the excitement and lost track of our goal with these leaflets."

"Hmm… are you going to admit defeat and realize that school reform is impossible." Mitsuki gave Rise a cheeky smile that almost set me off into a rage.

"This has nothing to do with school reform. This is about the Premier Judgement and Masaya's time left here. Right now he has 45 supporters and we need 232. This fight for integration starts after we can confirm that Masaya will stay past July 9th."

"The Premier Judgement is on July 9th?! Oh no, we don't have much time." Konomi let out a whimper that caught everyone else in the room off guard and all looked at her in confusion.

"I thought you'd be glad that I'd be gone."

"It's not because I like you that way. It's because like Rise said, the real fight hasn't even began." Konomi had a point even if she was lying. There wouldn't be much of a fight for integration if the sample male wasn't even a student anymore. "Rise, if the answers on that leaflet are false, then you should redo them with Masaya's actual responses."

"Y-You have a point, Konomi." Rise was taken aback by Konomi's willingness to help.

"But will anyone believe it. I'm pretty sure the other students are sick of leaflets." Mitsuki offered some surprising advice.

"I was thinking about that. Rise, I believe we need to change our approach." Ruriko chimed in after being silent for a while.

"You have an idea? Go on, Ruriko."

"Okay, Rise. So we all know that some of Masaya's defining features are his cyborg enhancements, his gunslinger nature, and his physical physique. I think that if we show the other girls that masculine side of Masaya more, they would grow to like him." _I don't like where this is going…_ I started to turn my legs towards the door in case Ruriko said something I wasn't going to like.

"Masculine side, eh? Are you saying we put his 'manhood' on display." The girls turned there heads towards Ayaka in a flabbergasted expression.

"No. Although my idea has a similar manner. To put it bluntly, I want to take pictures of Masaya without a shirt on." _I fucking knew it! They were waiting to use that 'Ace in the Hole' that involved me being a personal stripper for these girls._ "I don't know if you all are aware of a rumor that has been spreading coincidental after Masaya and Konomi's bath together. Which means that it's possible that Konomi herself had started this rumor." After Ruriko told us that, I turned towards Konomi, I stared at her with a dagger for an eye.

"Ah, I heard some girls in my class say something like that. They said that he apparently has a great body." Ayaka walked over to Konomi and poked her in her cheek.

"I-I-I didn't say those things because I wanted to! People asked me about it and that's what came out of my mouth!" Konomi started frantically squirming and started stuttering her words.

"Sure, Konomi. But was what you telling those girls true?" Konomi thought about that question for a second.

"Well, he had a very toned body. I personally see more of a fencer than a gunslinger in Masaya. Not to mention that he had a very powerful grip and super human reflexes. Masaya, if you don't mind me asking? Have you ever practiced fencing?" Konomi knew that I was skilled in firearm and hand-you-hand combat but she, like the other girls knew about my newly learned sword fighting skills, even though my inexperience is what caused me to lose my eye to Mujihi, an obvious swordmaster.

"I uh… I've held a fencing sword once when I was little. My mom signed me up for a kendo class when I was little. Some little arsehole wacked me across the head with his fencing sword on the first day of class and my mom pulled me out of the class that same day."

"Yet you have the body of a warrior. You are truly blessed with such a powerful physique. Hahh…" Konomi started to turn red as she started to slur her words a little. She stumbled back a little before Tamie pushed her back up.

"Easy there, Konomi. Don't want you to collapse on the floor."

"Have you been lifting weights since I last saw you?" Chiho asked me in a wondering expression

"Yeah, I lifted a lot of heavy boxes in all the odd jobs I had. Didn't help that I had a very… strict diet after running."

"This is what I am saying. We should show the other girls his Herculean physique. Such a form is left constricted to the clothing he wears."

"I'm starting to agree with Ruriko. I would definitely love to take pictures of this Herculean body." Tamie pulled out a camera out from no where. _Where the bloody hell does she even keep that fucking thing?_

"Hmm.., I'm starting to love this plan more and more."

"I guess I am too."

"I appreciate your support for my idea. Rise if we could, can we put the pictures on our society homepage? I want the pictures to be some of the first things they see."

"I'm sure if you did that, my mother would be furious."

"Ah… who cares what Mom has to say about it. This is a White Lily Society issue."

"Fine, do whatever you want. Are you going to take the pictures now?"

"Yes, I don't want to waste anytime on this."

"I agree with Rise. Let's start shootings pictures." Tamie jumped in excitement.

"If that's the case, I should leave."

"Ah… Ritsuko!" Ritsuko walked out of the door. I tried calling out to her to help me, but she was already gone. _Fuck…_

"I'm leaving as well. To see a man naked, especially him. Ugh…" Mitsuki followed after Ritsuko, I spotted some blush on her face. The remaining girls all looked at me like predators eyeing its prey, though Chiho seemed to be reasonable.

"Chiho, please tell me for the love of God, you are against this?!" Chiho just looked at me before responding.

"Hmm… well, I'm not entirely convinced that this is a good idea, but… I don't see why we can't try. As they say 'A picture is worth a thousand words'.

"This is not the appropriate time to be getting philosophical!"

"Don't be such a grouch about this, Masaya. It's not like we're asking you to strip to nothing, we just want some pictures of your upper body."

"I wouldn't doubt that you would want to see that…"

"Come on, Masaya. Please." Tamie and the rest of the girls gave me puppy eyes look, it was starting to break me.

"Agh! Fuck it, I ain't got nothing more to fucking lose!" I walked over to where Tamie wanted me, at the window overlooking the courtyard. "You girls owe me for this, you know." I took off my coat and started to unbutton my dress shirt. I could hear the girls quiet moans as one less button kept my upper body covered. _Jesus, these girls are gonna jump me any second now._

"Ooh, I like that shy expression you have right now. However we can't show the girls 'Masaya Okonogi, the shy, sexy cyborg gunslinger'. We need to show them 'Masaya Okonogi, the strong, stoic, and sexy cyborg gunslinger'."

"It's not like I could control how I'm feeling about this situation. Let's just take this stupid pictures and get this over with." I unbuttoned the last button to my dress shirt and stood there with my upper body exposed.

 **Now Playing: Feigned Ignorance- Princess Evangile OST**

All the girls, except Tamie slowly inched their way towards me." _Why are they coming towards me?_

"Hey, come on now. I can't get a good shot of him if you guys are in the way." The girls, seemingly in a trance, ignored Tamie and kept advancing towards me. They were so close, I ended up against the window with no room to escape.

"Wow, you got yourself there a real six pack, huh, Masaya?"

"It's more amazing than I thought."

"I've never seen a man with this good of a physique as Masaya."

"Hmm… he was pretty Herculean body…"

"So this is what Masaya looks like from the front with without any clothes on.

"You girls, can you stop putting you faces into my chest." As with Tamie, the girls seemed to ignore me and only paid attention to my body. I sighed when Ruriko went in for the kill and touched my stomach.

"My, it really is quite hard and hot…"

"Woah, Hey! Hands off the bloody merchandise there!" I swatted Ruriko's hand away from me.

"Hey! Where did you touch him?"

"On his stomach."

"*sigh* Come on guys, scram. I need these shots to be perfect." Finally, the girls broke away and the photo shooting session started. "Okay, try this pose, Masaya. Turn to your right and turn you head to face the camera with you gun pointed right at it. And give me a really good stoic face." I did what Tamie said and she took the picture. "Alright! Next, I'm gonna put the camera on the floor and you're gonna point you gun directly at the camera lenses as if saying that I'm pathetic. Oh, and tilt your head to your right. I did the pose Tamie wanted and she took some more pictures. "Okay, last one. I want you to stand straight and point you gun at the camera with the intention that you're seeking to a red dead redemption and demanding the hearts of the maidens of Vincennes. That's it, good pose, Masaya." I posed for the last shot with my head tilted to the right, my body slightly tilted left and my M1911A1 and my eye were facing directly at the camera. "You're a regular cowboy. Have you ever considered a modelling job, Masaya?"

"If it gave me good money. Then yes." The photo shoot came to an end, and I went back to my dorm for the day. _I hope those girls know what they're doing._

 **June 4th, 2011**

 **0745hrs**

 **The Headmistress' Office, Vincennes Private Girls Academy**

 **Now Playing: Colorless Days- Princess Evangile OST**

Unsurprisingly, the photo shoot caught the Headmistress' attention and any one involved in the session was called into her office first thing in the morning. "For heavens sake… I am utterly aghast. What on earth where you all thinking?" We were all lined up in front of the Headmistress' desk. She was pacing back and forth through the line while talking.

"I would have been more lenient if this was anotherr of Ayaka's pranks but…" Ayaka stuck out her tongue like a little kid when the Headmistress wasn't looking. "To be taking nude pictures of a boy… it's preposterous." We gave each other a look when Tamie spoke up.

"Uh… Madam Headmistress, Masaya had his pants. It was only he shirt that was off."

"I doesn't matter. You took those pictures of him with that lecherous expression."

"Ah… well, that was-"

"Masaya Okonogi… that satanic expression only confirms my suspicion of you. A cybernetically enhanced, outlaw gunslinger that has come to harm this institution."

"An outlaw? Please… spare me from that load of bullocks." The Headmistress was about to yell at me again when Tamie spoke up again.

"Madam Headmistress, before you start yelling at Masaya, I just wanted to say that it was I that told him to make those poses and expressions."

"What did you say?"

"Well… it's just that, Masaya has the look and the body of a fearless gunslinger, like in the Western movies. That's why I told him to look menacing and toug- I'm just gonna shut up now…" I gave Tamie a angry glare and she stopped talking. _Oh my God, these girls are gonna get me arrested one day…_ I sighed and put a hand over my face.

"…Tamie, I have absolutely no clue what you are saying. Regardless, you all still took dubious photographs, uploaded them to a school webpage, and overall spreading this nonsense to the other students here. I'm at an utter lose of words. I feel the only way to make you learn your lesson is a punishment."

"Now, now, Madame Headmistress." Rise's grandmother, the Chairwoman was standing off to the side while the Headmistress scolded us. I knew she would have our backs, she's a friend of my family and the main pusher for integration on the School Board. Had it not been for her and Rise's plan. I would of never came here to Vincennes, not to mention she's the only one keeping me from being thrown out. "We need to hear their full explanation before we enact punishment. It's one thing for this to be an elaborate prank, but perhaps we can settle this matter more amicably."

"*sigh* You've always been to soft, Madame Chairwoman…"

"Not soft, Misako. Just fair and balanced."

"Well regardless of the reason, you all still wreaked havoc unto this school, I simply can't let that slide. Do you know what happened? A first year Intermediate Course student opened the page to see this man posing in that fashion and she instantly fainted."

"Heh… she was swoon by the stoic and sexy cyborg gunslinger."

"Ayaka, please be quiet." Ayaka just rolled her eyes slightly when the Headmistress turned away. "That's why, in order to prevent such a thing to ever happen again. I herby am restricting what can be uploaded on the White Lily Society's webpage." That decree sent Rise off and she started arguing with the Headmistress.

"What?! Madame Headmistress! You can't do that, it's censorship!"

"Don't worry, Rise. You may still upload, you just have to go through the school first. Besides, censorship is the only option I have from seeing this man on that homepage looking like some degenerate killer."

"But, you have to understand. If we lose our uploading privileges, we lose all of our flexibility."

"Hmph… you're just going to have to deal with the consequences of you're actions."

"I can't accept this. This a gross violation of our freedoms at Vincennes!"

"I think you fail to realize, Rise, that I have no care for what you do and do not accept. And secondly, this is not a volation if you uploaded these photos knowingly." Rise was about to start yelling again when I grabbed her arm and mouthed 'Don't try and fight it. You'll just give her more reason to censor us.'

"Rise, you have to admit your fault on this matter. I'm doing what I can, but I pledge to be fair and balanced when dealing with society issues."

"But, Grandmother..,"

"Please, Rise… don't argue about it anymore. Just accept the Headmistress' decision." Rise looked down in defeat and the Headmistress told us all to leave. As we walked to class I let out a sigh.

 **Now Playing: Thoughtless as Usual- Princess Evangile OST**

"*sigh* I told you lot this was a bad idea, but did any of you listen? No, because who gives a shite about what ol' grumpy Masaya's opinion is."

"Shut up, Masaya. You're not exempt from anything, you agreed either way and took the pictures."

"Yeah, after you all kept pushing me to do it." Chiho and I went back and forth some more when Rise stopped us.

"This is not the time to be at each other's throats. What the Headmistress did is unfair and violates everything Vincennes stands for, and I won't accept it for a second. But we can't let it bring us down."

"Rise's right. We need to overcome this terrible predicament and strike at our problems from a different angle."

"Hey guys, don't take it to hard. I'm sure plenty of people saw the page, and I'm sure they'll be quite a reaction."

"Oh, there will be a reaction, alright..," I muttered those words barely loud enough for the others to hear it.

"Don't worry, Masaya. Plenty of goodie-two shoes girls have a secret attraction to bad boys like you. It's like in those American teen movies from the 1950s"

"You know those are fiction, right?"

"Yeah, but… fiction can influence real life if it's realistic enough. Love and attraction work in weird ways, after all."

"I thought I was going to get pregnant when I saw the screen." Konomi was spacing out again as we walked back.

"Come on, Konomi. Don't start that up again. I'm not having another sex-ed class with you again."

"Hey, Rise. I'll run a quick survey after school and show you guys tomorrow the results. That good with you all." We all just nodded at Tamie, the society's morale was obviously tanking after the Headmistress' decision. _I get the feeling that this isn't going to go well at all…_

 **1615hrs**

 **Maria Hall, Vincennes Private Girls Academy**

 **Now Playing: Going out on a Sunny Day- Princess Evangile OST**

We all waited in the White Lily Society room for Tamie when she came to the door in a puzzled expression. "Sorry for the wait, guys. I just can't figure out these results." _Oh boy, here we go again…_

"Can't understand the results?"

"Yeah, have a look. It's not what I had hoped." We all looked at each other and collectively shared a sigh as we read the report.

"Shit… we didn't even get a B answer again." I went to the window to smoke a cigarette after looking at the report.

"Man… what are the responses." Ayaka flipped the paper and started reading the responses. "'Men are disgusting creatures.', 'Demon.', 'Scary.', 'Intimidating.', 'It looks so hard.', 'Is he suppose to be some western cowboy?'. *sigh* I guess the Filles de la Vincennes weren't ready for the stoic, and sexy cyborg gunslinger just yet."

"I wonder why. We've had no problem wUgh his gunslinger nature. *gasp* Perhaps being in Masaya's presence cast a spell on you that makes us unaffected by your nature and your nudity."

"Ugh… you're starting to sound like Konomi, Ruriko…"

"Ruriko's right, besides the magic part. We've had hours and hours to get to know you while most girls here have only seen you from afar."

"I agree with Chiho. You all know me personally while the other girls have only ever seen me in between classes or when I fuck up, like when I kicked down the door to Chiho and Ruriko's room."

"Don't remaind me, you pervert."

"Hmm… if only we put a comment about Masaya's scent."

"I don't want to be mean, Ruriko, but… I don't think that would help me very much."

"We come up with two ideas to improve Masaya's approval ratings and they've both fell flat on their faces. They say the Buddha forgives three times, so this next time, we should succeed."

"You're hatching up with a plan, Chiho? Great…"

"What choice do we have?! We need to get you approval ratings up by next month.

"I know that, but maybe we need a plan that I actually agree on." The whole room fell silent for a while before there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Rise signalled the visitors to enter. It was Mitsuki, Ritsuko, and Konomi again. "Oh, good to see you all…" For the first time I saw Rise be a little sarcastic towards Mitsuki, I was starting to rub off and the prim and proper Rise Rousenin, that thought made me chuckle a little.

"Relax, Rise, we're not here to kick you while you're down."

"We're not down yet."

"Well, I guess you don't need it. You've been scolded by the Headmistress and you plan us in shambles. So I thought that you needed some comforting." Rise growled a little at Mitsuki's words, her fiery spirit and her determination to succeed were as strong as ever

"I don't see why people are making such a fuss about a shirtless Masaya. There's statues of naked men with their 'thing' out all over the world."

"Because, these pictures show how disgusting this man can be. I'm sure the rest of the school thinks he's even more dangerous than we thought. He really is a Tentateur Serpent."

"Heh… I never knew I was such a good actor. I should get nominated for an Oscar for this.."

"*sigh* You're as sarcastic as ever, Masaya. What exactly do you ol to do now?"

"Eh… Rise was hatching up another plan when you all cane in."

"*giggle* Masaya's a little like Jesus, isn't he." Ayaka pointed to the bible that Ritsuko was holding. "He has his disciples. But in the end, it's his destiny to be persecuted by the masses."

"Sister?! That's blasphemy! To liken him to Jesus."

"Eh… who cares. It's not like there's any Christians here, anyway." Ritsuko just sighed as the school loud speaker went off.

"Class 2-C, Masaya Okonogi. Class 2-C, Masaya Okonogi. Report to the Headmistress' office immediately." _Agh… what does she want now? Probably a one on one tongue lashing._

"Oh my, I wonder why that is. Have you gotten into anymore trouble?"

"Tsk… I doubt it. She probably just wants to scream at me because it's the only thing that gives her pleasure." The teacher on the speaker continued her announcement.

"Masaya Okonogi, you have a visitor, I repeat, you have a visitor."

"A visitor? Who the bloody hell can that be?" I started wondering who would want to see me here. _I can't be my mother because she disappeared almost seven years ago , I highly doubt it's Shinya because he abandoned my right before I met Rise. I told Ryuto that I wanted my identity as a soldier anonymous. The only other person I could think of would be a… another bounty hunter, or worse… The Boss… but, he wouldn't possibly know unless someone told him I was here. I can't be Ukyo because he's an informant for us in our fight against Sakamoto. I'm thinking too much into this._ I snapped back into reality and stood up from my chair. Rise stood up as I did.

"I should come with you, Masaya. I'm curious about who would come to see you."

"I-I don't know." If it was 'The Boss' or another bounty hunter, I would be putting Rise and the other in jeopardy, I sighed before giving Rise my answer. "Fine, but keep your distance. They only called for me." We all left Maria Hall for the Headmistress' office. I opened the door and we walked inside. The Headmistress was a little surprised.

"Hmm… I only asked for Mr. Okonogi. Why are the rest of you here?"

"Uh… we were with him when the announcement happened." The Headmistress looked at Rise suspiciously before dropping the discussion. I looked towards the chairs next to the Headmistress' desk to see a middle aged woman sitting there. She jumped from her seat and anxiously greeted me. "Masaya, it's really you! I had heard about what happened to you in Yokosuka. Are you alright? You look a lot different than when I first saw you." I looked at the woman before I realised who she was. She was an employee at a retirement home in Tsurugigoaka, her name was Sasaki Nojima.

"I-I'm fine, Mrs. Nojima. I would say I've been better, but I'd be lying. Anyway, how have you been, love?"

"I've been fine as well. The children are getting older, Yuno just entered Junior High School and my husband is still fighting on the frontlines in China."

"Well, hopefully he comes home soon. He had just been shipped out when we met. He's still a platoon sergeant, right?"

"No, he was given a battlefield commission to Captain after his entire company's leadership was killed in action during the First Battle of Shanghai. Anyway, I had heard from a friend that you had started attending Vincennes so I came to visit you. I wonder how you managed to attend this prestigious all girls academy?"

"It's a long story.., We would be here for hours if I told you."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Nojima. About what you wanted from Mr. Okonogi."

"Ah… yes, of course I'll explain it to you, Mrs. Kitamikado." Mrs. Nojima and the Headmistress started talked when Chiho tapped my shoulder.

"Hey, who the hell is that woman?" She whispered in my ear so no one could hear her.

"Don't get all worked up. She's just an acquaintance."

"An acquaintance, huh? Are you going after middle aged women whose husbands are off at war?"

"What? No, look, remember when you, Makoto, and I were at Eitatsu, we volunteered help care for elderly people. She's one of the head caregivers."

"Oh, now I remember. Makoto and I stopped going because we got busy, him with his military studies and I with track and trying to get into Vincennes."

"I'll be frank, Mrs. Kitamikado. I was hoping that Mr. Okonogi here would be willing to come to our retirement home."

"Huh? What are you saying?" The Headmistress was shocked at Mrs. Nojima's question.

"The elderly people we have at the home don't get a lot a visitors. It's get's pretty lonely for them to be almost isolated from society. A lot of our elderly men are veterans of the last Great War and their stories will be gone when they pass unless more people hear the hardships they went through. You see, three years ago, a group of children from Eitatsu Auxiliary came to visit them. Masaya was among the group and after that day, he visited once every month and entertained and listened to their stories from their good years."

"Woah, really?" Chiho was impressed.

"Yeah, the old ladies saw me as a gentleman while the war vets felt comfortable sharing with me what they saw on the frontlines."

"They really loved it when Masaya visited. But then, about a year ago, you stop showing up. We called the instructors at Eitatsu and they said you and your father disappeared after your graduation. I wonder why that is?"

"*sigh* Let's just say that the last year of my life has been quite the ride…" Mrs. Nojima looked at me and then nodded.

"Masaya? Would it be possible if you can come visit us again?"

"Of course I would, Mrs. Nojima. But..," I turned my head and glared at the Headmistress. "I don't know if she'd let me, though."

"Ah… Mrs. Kitamikado, I'm well aware that you forbid students to leave school grounds. But I'm hoping you can relax the rule just this one time."

"Well… under these circumstances. It would be loath if I refused you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kitamikado." Mrs. Nojima bowed politely. "Now, is it okay if we took him now."

"Y-Yes. Are you ready, Mr. Okonogi."

"Yep, you don't have to tell me twice." Mrs. Nojima and I were heading for the door when Tamie spoke up.

"Wait, Madame Headmistress. Can I tag along with Masaya, this could be good publicity. As the president of the News club, I can't miss this."

"I can't give you permission, he was requested for community service, while you were not." Tamie was about to drop her head down when Ayaka started talking to the Headmistress.

"Ah, Madame Headmistress."

"What is it, Ayaka?"

"You're word are the word of the Pharisees. Could it be possible that you are allowing Masaya to leave is because in your eyes, he's not a student of Vincennes?" Ayaka's words seem to enrage the Headmistress, I saw her face crunch up a little and she started turning a scarlet red. For those few seconds, she had the look that could kill at Ayaka, her own daughter. She then just shrugged.

"You are permitted to leave with Mr. Okonogi, Tamie. That doesn't go for the rest of you."

"Thank you, Madame Headmistress. *giggle* Come on, let's go! You guys just wait until I have a juicy story tomorrow about this." Tamie eagerly left the room.

"Come on then girls, let's go… to see Masaya and Tamie off. I wouldn't think about leaving school grounds." The Headmistress and I just looked at and sighed. Pretty much the only thing we had in common was our annoyance with Ayaka's foolishness, although it didn't bother me as much as it did the Headmistress.

"*giggle* This is quite the friends you have here, Masaya."

"Yeah… there something else. Come on, let's catch up to Tamie." We all headed out to the gate at the entrance where I said goodbye to the other girls and Tamie, Mrs. Nojima, and I got into her car and rode off to the elderly home.

 **Rise's POV**

 **Now Playing: The Usual Times- Princess Evangile OST**

"Well this is surprising. I never thought he kept on going to that old folks place after the first time." Chiho crossed her arms and laughed a little.

"This happened when you two were attending Eitatsu Auxiliary, wasn't it? The first time had more people, right?" I asked that question to Chiho who shrugged a little.

"Yeah. I remember the teachers were asking for volunteers. It eventually came down to Masaya, an old friend of ours named Makoto, myself, and three other students. But still, he never told Makoto and I that he had kept going. I guess he's always been mysterious, it's just that he wasn't reclusive like he is now."

"I think he's starting to readjust to society. He seems more relaxed here at Vincennes, albeit he's become more sarcastic since the May Festival but for the most part he seems livelier. I guess this also shows that he has a good heart." Although I knew who he really was, I still felt that his time at Vincennes has had a positive effect on Masaya's life. _I feel like Vincennes has reborn him into a better man than before._ "I still remember when he saved me from the Gardiane, he didn't know who they were granted but he saved me either way that day."

"Heh, he's a real 'love thy neighbor' type, huh, Ritsuko?"

"What do you mean by that, Sister?"

"I don't know, I just picked it up from the gospel you read. It was Luke, wasn't it?"

"Ah… you're saying that he is an example of a Good Samaritan."

"Yeah, you guys know the story. A guy is robbed and left to die on the roadside, his own countrymen turn their backs on the man. Then, a paget Samaritan helps the man. In the end, it was the Samaritan man, that was the other man's true neighbor. For you see, neighborliness isn't decided by birth. It is because Of the personal bonds of trust that come from human interaction. At least, that's what my Religion Theory teacher told us."

"Yes, I believe for the first time that you are right,"

"Damn… for the first time, we're actually in agreement." Ritsuko and Ayaka shared a laugh together. It was sweet to see them getting along with each other.

"It must have been fate that gave us this chance. We wouldn't have gotten this opportunity if Masaya hadn't helped out at the nursing home. I just know that this time, Masaya's approval ratings will go up when the others see what a kind and compassionate neighbor he is. I can't wait until Monday." I jumped a little in excitement.

"Me neither, Rise."

 **June 6th, 2011**

 **Maria Hall, Vincennes Private Girls Academy**

 **1230hrs**

 **Marika's POV**

 **Now Playing: Mozart/Concerto in Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C Major, 229 #1**

"My God… it doubled…" I was looking at Masaya's recent approval ratings and it had doubled since last week. "But it appears to to be in good reason. He truly is a 'Good Samaritan'." I looked at the photographs from the newspaper and it showed Masaya smiling with a group of elderly women and pay attention to an elderly men who were all wearing their old dress uniforms when they were in the Army and Navy. "It couldn't have been falsified, There are even comments from the staff and the elderly people on the article. I'm starting to feel that Masaya is more than suitable to be called our neighbor." I picked up my cellphone and decided to call my grandmother.

"Hello? How is this?"

"Um… it's me, Grandmother."

"Marika, are you alright? You're voice is lower than usual."

"Ah.., it's about Masa- I mean Lieutenant Masaya Okonogi."

"That dirty low life orphaned gunslinging robot. Marika, have you already forgotten what I told you last time?"

"But… he appears to be a righteous man, Grandmother." I started reading the article on the newspaper to Grandmother, but…

"This just further proves my point that we need to drive that low life out of Vincennes."

"What?" I was shocked. I thought that reading the full article would have convinced my grandmother to drop her efforts to get rid of Masaya and let the students decide. But it only convinced her to double her own efforts.

"Listen to me, Marika. He is trying to cover up who he really is by being this man that you think he is. But, at this moment, there's little to be concerned about what this degenerate gunslinger turned cyborg's character is." I couldn't believe what my grandmother was saying. I thought determining his character was our top priority. "The most righteous thing to do right now, Marika, is to defeat the Chairwoman Rousenin and her little granddaughter's foolish plan for school reform." The righteous thing to do. Was it to change or not to change. That question bothered me that entire year, but I could never find a definitive answer. But in my loyalty to my grandmother, I assumed that her word was law and that she was the righteous one. "Marika, you're to do whatever it takes to drive that gunslinger out of Vincennes. Use forgery, lies, anything to get him out of there for good. Do you understand me, Marika?" I was at a lost of words and could only let out one word.

 **Now Playing: Colorless Days- Princess Evangile OST**

"Y-Yes…" Grandmother just sighed and hung up her cellphone. I just stood where I was, in shock. My Grandmother was the one who raised me after my parents were both killed during the Soviet-Japanese War when I was still a newborn. My father was a respected officer in the Army while my mother was being groomed to be the next Headmistress of Vincennes. She always told me that righteousness was the best trait in a person and that we should all live a righteous life. She was a god to me, I could never refuse her orders because, in my mind, they were the most righteous thing to do. "But it's not right. To use underhanded methods to rid a man of apparent honor But, Grandmother is always right. I don't know…" I put my hands on my head and slumped down in one my chair in my office. _I can't back down now! I can't have any doubts. My grandmother is always right._ _Doubt will only obscure me from my righteous path and send me to the dark abyss._ I grabbed my cellphone again and called for Mitsuki. "Mitsuki, I need you in my office."

"Of course, I'm on my way, Marika." A few minutes passed by before Mitsuki came into my office.

 **Mitsuki's POV**

"Marika, you wanted to speak with me? What's the matter? You look very… unhappy." Marika looked pale and restless.

"I have to apologize to you, Mitsuki."

"Hmm? For what?" I turned my head in confusion.

"I know I scolded you for trying to sabotage Masaya's approval ratings, but… there's been a change of plans. I want you to start doing that again."

"But, Marika. I admitted that what I did was wrong. Also, I underestimated Masaya, I didn't think of him as very smart but… he found out and played me like a fool. He also told me I'd regret it if I tried again. Marika, what's going on? Why the sudden shift in attitude towards Masaya."

"I don't know. I just don't know anymore, Mitsuki."

"Marika…" I placed a hand on Marika's shoulder.

"I thought I knew the difference between right and wrong. It seems that it's not as black and white as I was taught. But I know there's no turning back, Mitsuki. I have decided that the righteous thing to do is to drive that wretched gunslinger, Masaya Okonogi, from Vincennes, no matter what."

"Ah… but why? Look, I don't like him anymore than you do but… this new report shows that he at least has a heart of kindness. He's a 'Good Samaritan'. So why would you overstep your position as student council president?"

"Because… Masaya Okonogi is a filth that should be eradicated from this institution… Anything that steers Vincennes towards reform is wrong..," I was starting to worry, Marika would never refer to Masaya as wretched or filth.

"B-But, isn't it up to the students to decide?"

"Do you think that I'm in the wrong, Mitsuki…?" Marika turned her head to the side a little, that movement from her frightened me a little.

"N-No… No! You know that I will always be at your side, Onee-sama."

"T-Thank you… Mitsuki… Now, shall we plan on what to do… about that filthy animal."

"…Yes…" I hesitantly agreed. Although I still believed in keeping Vincennes an all girls school, I was starting to like Masaya as a person and I started questioning the motivation behind the traditionalists movement. _Just what is going on with Marika, I don't like where this is going._

 **Now Playing: Magic of Courage Jingle(End of Chapter Theme)- Princess Evangile OST**

 **End of Chapter 10**

 **That concludes Chapter 10 of Shepherds of War Anthology: Princess Evangile. I hope you liked this chapter and that you stay tuned for the revision of Chapter 3: A Friendship Rekindled, which picks up right after Chapter 2 and involves Masaya trying to reconnect with his childhood friend, Chiho. and also stay tuned for Chapter 11: The Age for Adventure, where Masaya and the White Lily Society go on a trip into town to educate Ruriko on the world outside Vincennes, and more secrets. Until next time please favorite the story and if you want, give me some feedback- Shepherds12**


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